
Qass 
Book 



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ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION 



LONDON; 

inOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, SXtlANt). 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION; 

BEING AN INQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS 
OF 

PHYSICAL INFLUENCE ON THE MIND, 

IN THE PRODUCTION OP DREAMS, VISIONS, GHOSTS, AND 
OTHER SUPERNATURAL APPEARANCES. 

BY W. NEWNHAM, ESQ. 

AUTHOR OF A TRIBUTE OF SYMPATHY, THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL, 
INTELLECTUAL, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, &C. &C. 



" And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and 
unto wizards, that peep, and that mutter ; should not a people seek unto their God ? 
for the living, to the dead? — To the law and to the testimony : — If they speak not 
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." — Isaiah, viii. 19, 50. 




LONDON: 

J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY. 

SOLD ALSO BY J. NICHOLS, FARNHAM. 
1830. 



TO THE RIGHT REVEREND 



THE LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, 

SfC. SfC. <Scc. 



My Lord, 
Allow me to express my gratitude for 
your Lordship's permission to place the 
following pages under your protection ; 
and for the kind interest with which you 
have noticed and facilitated their progress. 
Possessing the privilege of near access 
to your Lordship, and bound by far other 
ties than those which subsist between an 
Author and his Patron, a labour under 



VI DEDICATION . 

the insuperable difficulty of employing 
language which may wear the appear- 
ance of adulation ; or of not expressing 
half the feelings of a heart deeply pe- 
netrated with a sense of your Lordship's 
friendship. I prefer the latter alter- 
native ; at the hazard of being charged 
by others with not duly appreciating the 
uniform kindness which I have ever re- 
ceived from your Lordship. 

Permit me then, my Lord, simply 
to inscribe to you this volume, as a small 
testimony of affectionate esteem and re- 
gard; and with the expression of a hope, 
that your Lordship's simplicity of pur- 
pose may be as fully appreciated by the 
world, as it must be bv those vrho have 
the happiness of knowing you most in- 
timately; and that God, in his infinite 
mercy, would graciously long spare your 



DEDICATION. Vll 

valuable life as a nursing" father to his 
Church, 

I remain. 

My Lord, 
With great respect, 

Your Lordship's 
Affectionate and devoted Servant, 
W. NEWNHAM. 

Farnham, Fehruai-y 10, 1830. 



PREFACE, 



The subject of the following pages was ori- 
ginally suggested to the Author, by a highly- 
valued friend, as one on which his pen might 
be usefully employed, in endeavouring to re- 
move some of those misconceptions which 
seem to place the pursuits of the Christian, 
in opposition to the researches of science ; 
a spectral imagining, which can alone maintain 
its suppased existence, so long as it can be 
invested with the undefined character that will 
be communicated by the darkness of ignorance, 
or by the twilight of information, but which 
must vanish before the full-born day of know- 
ledge : — for Christianity and true science can 



X PREFACE. 

never be opposed ; — and it may be fearlessly 
said, that the investigations of the latter, if 
conducted in a spirit of inquiry after truth, will 
always serve to explain and confirm the former ; 
although they will also dissipate the mistakes 
of some of its most valuable professors. 

The idea thus suggested to the Author was 
acted upon, and from this arose a series of 
communications to the '' Christian Observer," 
during the course of the past year. These 
Essays are now collected into one volume, and 
are presented to the Public, with various cor- 
rections, and additional illustrations, in the 
hope that they may prove acceptable to a 
larger class of readers ; and that they may be 
useful in undermining the wall of prejudice, 
which has been just alluded to: their Author 
most sincerely and fervently prays, that they 
may prove the means of widening the agency of 
real religion, by contracting the limits of the 
prejudices against its influence. 

It is perhaps a little extraordinary, that a 
work undertaken with this view, should have 



PREFACE. XI 

been charged with a tendency to infidelity. Of 
late years, this term has been very commonly 
applied to all those who stepped out of the 
beaten track, in order to extend the boundary 
of present knowledge, and to inquire into the 
secret springs, by whose operation, certain phe- 
nomena were obtained, and certain results 
attended. Perhaps it might be well to inquire, 
how far the zeal which has prompted a charge 
of this general nature, was really the offspring 
of a Christian spirit ^ and how far it may have 
been the product of indulging a natural seve- 
rity, and other peculiarities of character, — them- 
selves at variance with that spirit, and in so far 
as this may have been the case, closely allied 
to infidelity. The effect of Christianity is one 
of meekness and forbearance — of tenderness 
and prudence: — may the Author and his friends, 
and those who differ from him, strive earnestly 
to drink more deeply into the spirit which was 
in our Lord Jesus Christ, and to imitate his 
most perfect example. For himself, he can only- 
most solemnly appeal to the great Searcher of 



Xll PREFACE. 



hearts, that his simple object has been, to 
extend the influence of genuine Christianity, 
and the glory of Christ ; and he humbly prays 
that such may be the result of the present 
inquiry ; and if so, to God be all the praise ! 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 1. Page 

Introductory Remarks ..... 1 

CHAPTER II. , 

Division of the subject. — Of superstition in general. 
Its essential character. Its varieties. Its causes - 21 

CHAPTER III. 

Materiality of the brain, and its subjection to the agency 
of physical causes. It is the organ of mind, and will 
influence its manifestations. It is liable to morbid 
action, according to the particular organ of the body 
which may be in a state of irritation ; proofs of this 
position, arising out of simple, and morbid, and sym- 
pathetic excitement of the brain . . . .50 

CHAPTER IV. 

Particular sympathies of the brain ; — with the heart— 
with the blood — with the organs of respiration — with 
the stomach — with the liver — with the function of 
secretion in general — with the muscular system — with 
the skin, &c. &c. Conclusions - . . . 82 



XIV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

Phenomena of disordered brainular function, and its 
influence on the manifestations of mind. — Sensorial 
feebleness or perversion ; great susceptibility ; hal- 
lucination; unconquerable wakefulness; change of 
intellectual and moral manifestations , . .112 

CHAPTER VI. 

The same subject continued. — Early and slight changes 
of character accompanying this state. Varied in- 
fluence upon the bodily functions; intermittent or 
remittent character of the brain^s maladies — epilepsy 
— possession. Causes producing irritation of the 
brain ; viz. original malconformation ; wounds ; 
concussion ; compression ; fever ; local inflamma- 
tion; the entire class of nervous diseases; hypo- 
chondriasis. General inferences . . . .128 

CHAPTER VII. 

Phenomena of sleep^ and its morbid states. Its phy- 
siological laws. Its morbid conditions. Waking 
dreams or reveries. Nightmare. Dreams . . 147 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The same subject continued. — Definition of dreams; no 
dreams in natural sleep ; dreaming independent of 
the intellectual faculties; proximate cause of dream- 
ing ; exciting causes ; imperfect sleep ; irritation of 
the brain ; dreams of disease; their endless variety, 
and organic classification. Dreams of insanity ; dis- 
stinction of dreams, arising from primary or se- 
condary irritation of the brain ; recollected impres- 
sions: accidental associations . . .162 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER IX. 

The same subject continued. — Somnambulism, Second 
sight. Animal magnetism. Influence of imagination, 
and of superstitious credence. Is there any truth in 
popular superstitions ? 181 

CHAPTER X. 

The same subject continued. — Are dreams commission- 
ed for the discovery of crime? Application of the 
Author's principles to the history of W. Corder. 
Agency of the devil in the production of dreams, and 
various errors. Vision of angels, &c. . . . 202 

CHAPTER XI. 

/ 
On presentiments. Omens. The case of martyrs, and 

their extraordinary supernatural aid. Opinions of 

Dr. Hibbert, and of the author of " Past Feelings 

Renovated." 217 

CHAPTER XII. 

Agency of evil spirits ; possession ; dsemonomania ; 
temptation; astrology; doctrine of apparitions; spi- 
ritual contemplation ; peculiar physical state . .231 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Critical inquiry into the views of a recent writer in the 
" Record," on the subject of apparitions . . . 248 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Influence of nitrous-oxyde gas on the brain : — agency 
of Belladonna, Stramonium, opium, hemlock, fox- 
glove, &c. ; various illustrative cases. Influence 
of several mental excitants in the creation of appa- 
ritions 268 



XVI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Influence of brainular disease on the function of volition. 
Appearance of departed spirits to distant friends. 
Other supernatural appearances. Various illustra- 
tive narratives 298 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The same subject continued. — Examination of some 
popular histories of supernatural visitation. Lord 
Tyrone and Lady Beresford. Lord Lyttleton, &c. . 318 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Summary review of the preceding argument . . 340 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The same subject continued ..... 363 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The same subject continued 383 

CHAPTER XX. 

Conclusions arising from a review of the whole subject 409 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION 



CHAPTER I. 

Introductory Remarks. 

Before inviting the attention of my readers to 
a series of illustrations on the manifold and 
varied forms in v^hich the offspring of super- 
stition cross our path, 1 must claim their indul- 
gence should I sometimes impugn the truth of 
any long-cherished prejudices; and, especially, 
should I frequently refer to a bodily cause, effects 
which some of them may have attributed to a 
purely spiritual agency : and therefore I think 
it necessary to prefix to this inquiry, the prin- 
ciples upon which it is undertaken. 

I. The cause of true religion always loses 
ground, in proportion as it is associated with 
any system of irrational belief. 



Z ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

II. The cause of true religion always gains 
an accession of influence, and obtains an exten- 
sion of its benefits, in proportion as the faith of 
its disciples is supported by knowledge, en- 
lightened by the torch of scientific research, 
and chastened by the delicacy of true taste. 

III. The honour of God is vindicated, and 
the kingdom of Christ is enlarged ; the faith of 
the humble and the sincere is confirmed ; the 
prejudices of such as are satisfied with this 
world's wisdom are subdued ; the fears of the 
ignorant are superseded ; and the hope and 
confidence of the just are supported by being 
placed on a basis of scientific and rational ex- 
planation, rather than on the fears of ignorance, 
or on a measure of belief which was never de- 
signed for a revelation addressed to God's ra- 
tional creatures. 

It would contribute to the happiness and 
welfare of mankind, if the sincerely religious 
would condescend to be aided in their inquiries 
by the light of true science ; and if scientific 
investigators would, in the conscious humility 
of Christian feeling, submit their feeble judg- 
ment to the guidance of the Holy Spirit : so 
that the highest knowledge might be adorned 
by the lesser, but not trifling, beauties of intel- 
lect ; while the Colossus of literature might be 



CHAPTER I. 6 

rendered estimable by subordinating his stores 
of wisdom to the promotion of genuine piety in 
himself and others. 

These propositions require a little farther de- 
velopement ; 2ind Ji?'sty the cause of true religion 
in the world always loses ground, in proportion 
as it is associated with any system of irrational 
belief. Reflection teaches us^ that thus it must 
be ; for since revealed religion was designed for 
God^s most perfect work, and as it was des- 
tined to restore man to the image of God, in 
order that he might show forth the glory of his 
Creator and Redeemer ; it is manifest that this 
object will be accomplished only in proportion 
as he resembles his Maker. And since perfect 
knowledge forms one of the attributes of the 
Divine character, his creatures will be like him 
in this respect, only as the clouds of ignorance 
have been chased away by the influence of the 
Holy Spirit, upon the exertion of those talents 
which man has received ; as the undefined 
forms of twilight are rendered visible in all 
their proportions by the result of increasing 
acquaintance ; as his hopes are enlarged by 
being placed on a firmer basis ; as his aflec- 
tions are invigorated by discoveries of the in- 
finite care and goodness, and love of his Hea- 
venly Father; as his intellectual powers are 

B 2 



4 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

strengthened and matured by constant exercise 
on a wider and a more successful field of in- 
quiry and observation ; and as he is enabled to 
explain phenomena, and account for circum- 
stances which have been termed supernatural, 
and to know the vv^ise and rational agency of 
that good Providence which upholds and go- 
verns all things by the word of the Divine 
power. 

Experience confirms this award of reflection. 
Let us cast our eyes upon the Roman Catholic 
devotee ; let us look to his standard maxim of 
"I believe, because it is incredible;" let us 
contemplate the homage which he offers to his 
priest, — not on the score of influence arising 
from superior sacredness of character, — from 
intellectual and moral worth, or in return for 
the instruction he receives ; for all these maybe 
wanting : he may be grossly and openly pro- 
fligate, profoundly ignorant, and wholly care- 
less of the real wants of his flock ; yet homage, 
(might I not almost say adoration ?) is yielded 
to his ministerial character as a confessor, and 
as possessing the power of granting or with- 
holding absolution, rescuing his supplicant 
from the torments of purgatory, or suff"ering 
him to experience its prolonged punishments. 
Let us advert to his belief in the power of the 

i 



CHAPTER I. 



priest to forgive sins, upon being paid for it, 
although it is declared that none can forgive 
sins except God alone ; let us contemplate the 
catalogue of faults which includes murder, 
theft, adultery, and the like, as admitting of 
pecuniary atonement ; nay, farther, let us esti- 
mate the prospective indulgence which may be 
obtained to commit sin in future, upon a scale 
proportioned to the wealth of the individuals ; 
let us look to the mummery of his religion, to 
its imposing ceremonial, and its dread of the 
circulation of the Bible ; let us accurately 
weigh its favourite doctrine of transubstantiation, 
and of the real presence; its constant hostility 
to the diffusion of intellectual culture ; its claim 
to infallibility for all its decisions, and its per- 
manent substitution of a belief in the church for 
faith in Christ, and of penances and pilgrim- 
ages for holiness of life ; and then let us see 
whether all the loveliness and spirituality, and 
almost all the influence of Christianity, be not 
lost by its degrading association with that which 
is irrational. Witness again the effect of this 
system upon the will and upon the intellect : 
man loses his free-agency and individual ac- 
countability; his mind is grasped by the terrors 
of superstition, as by a chain of adamant ; he 
has no will but that of his priest, and no occa- 



6 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

sion for the exercise of judgment, or of the other 
intellectual faculties ; he is fast bound by the 
thraldom of the most enthralling power; his 
conscience is directed by the interest of his 
spiritual pastor, and the fear of his resentment^ 
rather than the love of his Heavenly Father, 
and the desire of obedience to his commands. 
Effects, similar in kind to these, though not in 
degree, are produced v^herever a spirit of Ro- 
man Catholicism is abroad throughout the 
world, and under every possible disguise ; 
that is, whenever any thing short of the pure 
and simple evangelical piety of the Bible 
is substituted as the ground of hope, or 
the rule of conduct; whenever any irrational 
attachment to forms and ceremonies is placed 
in the room of the worship of the Most High 
God. 

If it were necessary to accumulate proofs of 
this position, they might readily be found in 
the system of religious belief of the Mohamme- 
dan—in the endless and sensual mythology of 
the Hindoo— or in the still less enlightened no- 
tions of the North American Indian ; all tend- 
ing to show, that in proportion as man departs 
from that which is reasonable, he becomes the 
willing victim of ignorance, the debased slave 
of his passions, and still further and further 



CHAPTER I. 



alienated from the God of his life ; experience 
thus affording the strongest confirmation of our 
position. 

II. The cause of true religion always gains 
an accession of influence, and obtains an ex- 
tension of its benefits, in proportion as the faith 
of its disciples is supported by knowledge^ en- 
lightened by the torch of scientific research, 
and chastened by the delicacy of true taste. 
Real Christianity always gains by inquiry : 
once get a man to think over his state, and the 
suitableness of religion to his wants ; once en- 
list his understanding in the pursuit^ and let 
him be truly in earnest in asking what is his 
duty towards God and his neighbour; and 
there is every hope for him. The great mis- 
chief is, that he will not think ; that he will 
not consider; and that he will be contented 
with a few irrational services, placing these in 
the room of principled obedience. 

Prejudice is diminished by the association of 
the understanding wi'th religious belief. While 
the man of science and intellectual attainment 
can persuade himself that religion consists in a 
certain influence upon the passions and affec- 
tions, exerted he knows not how, and by a mys- 
terious agency, the very existence of which he 
almost hesitates to acknowledge, he considers 



8 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



it only as the heritage of weak minds^ and de- 
signed to govern the ignorant : but when he 
sees its doctrines embraced upon conviction, by- 
individuals of whose intellectual capacity he 
can entertain no doubt ; and when he perceives 
that such minds are only energised in the pur- 
suit of knowledge, and refined, and purified ; 
when the powers of the judgment are confessedly 
deepened, and the benevolent affections are ex- 
panded ; when argument is called in to the de- 
fence of their opinions, and all the resources of 
learning are placed in requisition to prove the 
reality, as well as the reasonable ground, of 
their convictions ; — he is assured that religion is 
not that contracting study which he once 
thought it, but that it possesses the power 
even of ennobling the mind ; and thus the veil 
of prejudice is blown aside, the film of visual 
delusion is dissipated, and at least the soil is 
prepared for the reception of Divine truth. 

Again ; learning, and the majesty of culti- 
vated mind, exert an astonishing influence over 
popular opinion, and must therefore add strength 
to the cause of Christianity, in proportion to 
the extent of such agency. And this will ope- 
rate both in the way of precept and example : 
the opinion of the reputed wise is quoted by the 
majority of those who think not for them- 



CHAPTER I. 9 

selves ; their powers of persuasion are very 
great ; and their example is bounded only by 
the extent to which it can be seen. 

The employment of these talents and re- 
searches upon Biblical Criticism has not been 
thrown away ; many seeming incongruities have 
been explained ; many difficulties have been 
removed ; light has beamed upon that which 
was obscure ; the appearance of contradiction 
has been reconciled ; and the harmony of the 
Scriptures has been fully established : the ob- 
jections of the infidel have been answered ; and 
while it has been allowed that there are mys- 
teries in religion far beyond the comprehension 
of a finite capacity, it has also been shown 
that the same law attaches to all the produc- 
tions of nature; and precisely because the 
human mind, formed originally with capacities 
to comprehend the rationale of its own phe- 
nomena, has lost that power by the debasing 
influence to which it has been subjected. It 
has been shown, too, that the difficulties of 
infidelity involve an exercise of belief far 
greater than the mysteries of religion, and 
monstrous in proportion to the cheerless anni- 
hilation with which they are connected : the 
doubts of feeble and unconvinced but sincere 
inquirers have been chased away, like the sum- 



10 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

mer's mist which has still lingered on the crest 
of our hills, till it has vanished before the light 
and heat of the full-born day : and the faith 
and hope, and love, and joy of the Christian 
have been deepened in their hold upon his 
heart, while they have expanded into all that 
is virtuous in principle, all that is pure and 
benevolent in feeling, all that is lovely and 
excellent in conduct. 

Moreover, Christianity will derive an acces- 
sion of strength from the delicacy of true taste : 
its influence upon the mind will be, to give it a 
more extensive hold upon the sympathies of 
others; while to the man of simple literary 
taste, it will come recommended and adorned 
with its genuine qualities, instead of being 
associated with that which is opposed, to its 
real nature; and thus its agency will be ex- 
tended both above and below, from the giant 
of literature to the least expanded intellect 
among the sincere and simple-hearte, the 
poor and illiterate. Besides, there will be 
developed a delicate perception, by which the 
finer shades of moral beauty will be seized and 
appropriated ; an acquaintance with mind, and 
its powers and operations, will be widened ; 
the removal of prejudice will unveil the wide 
field of mental research ; all that is sublime 



CHAPTER T. 11 

and beautiful in nature or in character will be 
doubly enjoyed ; there will be a permanent 
delight in cultivating the intellectual faculty, 
and in consecrating its powers to the service of 
Him from whom all blessings flow ; the sub- 
stantial worth of the individual will be increased, 
while his capacity for usefulness, and his desire 
after it, will be augmented ; the productions of 
reason and intellect will be estimated aright, 
and will be tested, as they ought to be, by 
their title to the possession of moral beauty ; 
and this again will be referred, for its standard, 
to the character of highest value, even to 
Christ, who is the chief among ten thousand^ 
and altogether lovely. 

III. But^ thirdly, I have stated that the 
honour of God is vindicated, and the kingdom 
of Christ is enlarged ; the faith of the humble 
and sincere is confirmed ; the prejudices of 
those who are satisfied with this world^s wis- 
dom are subdued ; the fears of the ignorant 
are superseded ; and the hopes and confidence 
of the just are supported, by being placed on a 
basis of scientific and rational explanation, ra- 
ther than on the fears of ignorance, or on a 
measure of belief which never was designed for 
a revelation addressed to God's rational crea- 
tures. 



12 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Christianity is not a religion of mere feeling 
and passion : for, although it should come from 
the heart, it must be based on the understand- 
ing, and be supported by the intellect ; other- 
wise its clear and steady light will be exchanged 
for the transient meteor of exhalation on the 
one hand, or the frost of indifference on the 
other. The glow of enthusiasm, or the chill of 
carelessness ; the fever of passion, or the col- 
lapse of scepticism, will characterise the mani- 
festations of a mind which has embraced its 
truths but in part, and has, perhaps, embraced 
them with the narrow views of sectarian influ- 
ence. Besides, a little acquaintance with the 
intellectual nature of man will prove that he 
was originally designed for much greater attain- 
ments than are now within his grasp ; and will 
show that some perverting agency has passed 
upon him, has circumscribed his knowledge, 
placed a limit everywhere to his researches, 
converted that which was once good into that 
which has an evil tendency, and made him 
what he now is, the willing slave of sin^ instead 
of what he ought to be, the obedient servant of 
Christ. And if this state of things cannot be 
accounted for upon any known pinnciple, it is 
surely not irrational to take the account which 
revelation gives of this sad change. And, if our 



CHAPTER I. 13 

conviction of this first and fundamental truth of 
revelation be thus confirmed, our faith in its 
remaining doctrines acquires a firmer basis. 
For faith, v^hich is the gift of God, must be 
based upon the conviction of v^ant in the 
dependent, and of power, and knowledge, and 
goodness, in the Giver ; and it must be sup- 
ported by the understanding, or it will wither 
away, before the sophistries of the designing. 
Besides, the moral responsibility and free 
agency of man, his power to choose the good, 
and refuse the evil ; and his loss of that power, 
in consequence of the gloomy inheritance be- 
queathed him from this first fall, and now pro- 
longed to successive generations, derives sup- 
port from the phenomena of mental manifes- 
tation and brainular peculiarity. 

The original character of the faculty of voli- 
tion may be still descried through its mourn- 
fully altered phenomena : man's knowledge of 
good, and his conviction of truth, his preference 
of evil, and his choice of error, are stamped in 
undeniable characters upon his mental opera- 
tions, and plainly indicate the -necessity of some 
change, in order to convert the manifestations 
of his degraded temperament into the offspring 
of truth, and justice, and righteousness ; and 
thus also confirm the doctrine of a necessity for 



14 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



the influence of the Holy Spirit, to renew that 
nature, to change that heart, to subdue that 
rebellious will, to enlarge that contracted un- 
derstanding, and to place its renovated feelings, 
and views, and principles, . on another and a 
firmer basis, even the Rock of Ages. Yet, if 
this be true, it is clear that man is now in a 
state of imperfection ; and still equally clear 
that the constitution of his nature must have 
originally destined him for a state of perfection, 
Man's immortal spirit is encumbered and im- 
prisoned in its material tenement, which is 
destined, in a few short years, to lose its beauty, 
and to crumble into dust. Heix, then, he is 
tending to decay ; and therefore, if there be a 
state of perfection anywhere, it cannot be on 
earth. But he possesses within himself a con- 
sciousness of continued existence. It is rea- 
sonable to conclude that perfection must be 
hereafter : and we now see him placed in a 
period of probation, during which, his powers 
are to be refined ; and he is to be daily striving 
forward, after that nearer and still nearer ap- 
proach to a perfect state, which is only attain- 
able, as it is revealed to us, when mortality 
shall be swallowed up of life^ when the soul 
shall escape the burden of materiality, and when 
disenchanted from the thraldom of ignorance 



CHAPTER I. 15 

and vice, and released from the prison of the 
body, it shall know all things ; when it shall 
be clothed in the robe of its Redeemer's right- 
eousness, and it shall be holy, even as He is 
holy. 

But, further, this being admitted, it is mad- 
ness to rest satisfied with the possession of any 
measure of present wisdom. For if the original 
tendency of the human mind be the pursuit 
after perfection ; and if any point of improve- 
ment be a step gained in advance towards this 
state ; and if the acquisition of every fresh 
portion of knowledge be not only a triumph 
over ignorance, but a source of strength for the 
future useful application of mental power ; and if 
the value of knowledge be estimated only by the 
end which it proposes, and by the means of its 
accomplishment, it is clear, that that wisdom 
which relates to a small section of man's exist- 
ence, can only be valuable in proportion as it 
adds to his capacity for enjoying, and his means 
of obtaining, that eventual good which will 
constitute his happiness throughout futurity ; 
and therefore, that every attainable portion of 
science should be earnestly desired, and should 
be employed directly or indirectly in seeking 
after that perfection which alone can thoroughly 
satisfy the heart that has been renewed by 



16 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the Spirit of grace ; since none but a Divine 
sanction can fully calm its fears, or expand the 
bosom with hope and confidence, or joy and 
love : nought but this can constitute the active 
Christian, the burning and shining light, during 
the darkness and the doubt v^hich attach to his 
material existence. 

The doctrine of Providence, the bountiful 
care of the Almighty Creator, the harmony 
which pervades all his works, the beneficence 
which marks his designs, and the wonderful 
provision which has been made for all the emer- 
gencies of life, are explained and defined by 
the researches of natural philosophy ; and thus 
phenomena which impressed the mind with 
fear, when ignorant of their cause, become 
sources of adoring gratitude, and motives to 
obedience when explained. Every hour of 
man^s eventful history affords a convincing proof 
of his dependence, and of the divinity of that 
power, which, unseen sustains and governs all 
things with inconceivable benevolence. The 
light of science will exhibit this truth in a 
thousand every-day forms, and will prove how 
minutely and literally we live, and move, and 
have our being, through this Almighty agency. 
But if so, we are prepared to receive the reve- 
lation of God as the moral Governor of the 



CHAPTER I. 17 

universe, entitled to man's obedience, and en- 
acting those paternal laws, the infringement of 
which must be followed by certain punishment, 
or by pardon proceeding upon a principle which 
can reconcile perfect holiness with perfect love. 
The obligations of a child to an earthly parent 
admit not of comparison with those of man to 
his Creator ; yet the former enacts laws, and 
requires implicit obedience to their spirit, pu- 
nishes for their infraction, and only forgives upon 
submission of the offender, making a fancied 
atonement for error, and promising to do his 
will in future. But God, who is perfect holi- 
ness, can only forgive iniquity which has been 
atoned for ; and since man has no power of his 
own to expiate sin, to obtain forgiveness for the 
past or strength for the time to come, a sacri- 
fice has been provided, by which the harmony 
of the Divine attributes may be sustained, and 
God may be just, and manifest his hatred to 
sin, and yet be gracious to sinners^ receiving to 
his favour all such as accept the proffered sal- 
vation, through faith in Christ, and obedience 
unto life. Nor is there any thing incredible in 
this provision ; for^ reasoning from the analo- 
gies of the physical creation, if God has wisely 
ordained a certain proportion of atmospherical 
air to sustain natural life ; and if the slightest 

c 



18 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

difference in the proportion of its constituent 
atoms occasion distress ; and if the air we have 
breathed be contaminated, and rendered unfit 
to sustain animal life ; and still more, if this air 
be peculiarly fitted for the support and nourish- 
ment of plants, which thus consume what man 
has impoverished, and again breathe it out pu- 
rified and renewed : or if it has been wisely 
provided, that water, in assuming the form of 
ice, should become specifically lighter than in 
its pristine state, in order to prevent the devas- 
tating consequences of those inundations which 
must ensue, were the contrary the case ; why, 
if this minute care (and the instances might be 
indefinitely multiplied) be taken of man's wel- 
fare (and science demonstrates that it is taken), 
can there be any thing incredible in the suppo- 
sition, that at least equal care should have been 
taken of his moral, but contaminated nature, or 
that some provision should have been reserved, 
to rescue him from the devastations of sin, which 
come in like a flood ? And can there be any 
thing less reasonable, less worthy of attention 
and of belief, in the provision which has been 
made in the sacrifice of Christ, for the latter 
instance, — recurring to the above-mentioned 
physical facts, — than in the effect produced 
upon air by the respiration of plants, or on the 



CHAPTER £. 19 

specific gravity of water by the change of con- 
figuration in its particles on their becoming 
ice? 

Surely, then, my first propositions have been 
fully demonstrated ; surely, we need not be 
afraid of considering reason and science as the 
handmaids of religion ; or of seeking for an 
explanation of forms of being with which we 
are unacquainted, without at once referring 
them to a purely mysterious and spiritual agen- 
cy. There is sometimes exhibited a fear of 
tracing effects to their causes, and of investi- 
gating the successive links of action and im- 
presssion, lest we should look to second causes 
only, and rest in these, forgetting the Great 
First Cause. But this fear arises from errone- 
ous conception. When we look to the govern- 
ment of God, and endeavour to trace in our 
view its immensity, and its moral attributes, we 
can only refer such agency to an infinite mind, 
and can form no comprehensible idea of its 
operation ; but when we look to this govern- 
ment as presiding everywhere, and as acting 
through the use of means which have been pro- 
vided, and which scientific research enables us 
to understand^, we can then form some idea of 
this wonder-working agency, in some infinitesi- 
mal portion of creation : and by the infinite 

c2 



20 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

multiplication of this sustaining power^ our 
views of its grandeur, and goodness, and all- 
pervading influence and love, are immensely 
increased ; the rational mind is expanded_, where 
feeling or prejudice would before have operated ; 
and the conviction which results is of a far 
firmer and longer and more enduring quality, 
as well as more universally operative. God is 
everywhere : we ackiiowledge it as an abstract 
truth, or as a matter of faith : but when we 
trace his footsteps, we see and know it. The 
only evil attending this investigation consists in 
the possibility of forgetting his primary agency; 
but this will be never realized where such re- 
search is undertaken with a view to his glory, 
and with a sim.ple desire to be led into all truth. 
May God Almighty bless the present attempt 
to explain phenomena, which to many may ap- 
pear inexplicable, and to show that He is a God 
of order, working by the agency of means, to 
the perversion, or diseased or morbid applica- 
tion of which by sinful man, can alone be re- 
ferred those deviations from consistency, which 
have often been ascribed to purely spiritual 
agency ; but which really do, for the most part, 
own a bodily origin. 



CHAPTER II. 



Division of the Subject. — Of Superstitiou in general. — Its 
essential character. — Its Varieties. — Its Causes. 



In proceeding with the subject, it will be ne- 
cessary to consider superstition in general, 
which will lead me to a notice of its causes ; 
and, among others, that which arises from the 
influence of irritated brain. — The writer's views 
on this subject will oblige him to glance at the 
cerebral functions in a state of health, and un- 
der the operation of morbid action ; after which 
his hypothesis w^ll be applied to account for 
various presumed supernatural appearances and 
influences, — to dreams, visions, ghosts, and 
other kindred matters. 

I. Of superstition in general. 

The essence of superstition consists in the 
belief of the existence of so?ne supernatural 
power ; not, however, the agency of the God of 



22 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the Christian revelation — a Being of infinite 
purity and holiness, of unsearchable wisdom, of 
boundless mercy, and goodness, and love ; — a 
God of order, requiring the obedience of the 
understanding and of the heart to laws which 
are framed by infinite knowledge of the delu- 
sions of the former, and of the aberrations of 
the latter; the object of the hope, the confi- 
dence, the affection of his creatures — dwelling 
with the humble and the contrite — preserving all 
things by the word of his power, and especially 
extending his protection to those who love and 
serve him : but a power, the character of which 
is mischievous, its attributes unknown, not 
founded on reason, inimical to science, unac- 
knowledged by revelation, opposed to the hap- 
piness of man, introducing disorder into the 
mental functions and moral conduct, submitting 
the understanding and the heart to a blind and 
irrational impulse, prompting to evil, or para- 
lyzing the power of doing well, and leading to 
distrust in the providence of God, and to disbe- 
lief of his promises. Exactly in proportion as 
real religion raises the tone of moral feeling, 
and stimulates the desire after intellectual at- 
tainment^ superstition degrades the former and 
destroys the latter. The character of man as 
a moral and intellectual being is exalted and 



CHAPTER Tl. 23 

improved by the influence of religion, because 
he justly estimates its precepts and doctrines as 
the offspring of truth, the handmaid of science, 
the nurse of intellectual progress, the great 
source of mental action and passion, the regu- 
lator of the desires, and consequently as af- 
fording the means of happiness in the sunshine 
of prosperity, as well as of hope, of peace, and 
of consolation under the cloud of adversity; 
the only source of correct conduct, because it is 
the only system of morals which reaches to the 
thoughts, and feelings, and motives ; and be- 
cause none but a Divine sanction can renew the 
heart, or subdue the rebellious will, change the 
course of natural passion, substitute the love 
of God for self-love, or implant the desire of 
obedience to his will, in the room of that trea- 
sonable pursuit of independent existence, which 
is the spontaneous fruit of practical atheism. 

It is under such an influence that man, civi- 
lized man, cultivates his faculties, and should 
devote them to God who gave them. He finds, 
indeed, a natural barrier placed to his re- 
searches ; but he does not with his own hands 
construct an artificial impediment to his pro- 
gress : he busily employs his talents, and, un- 
der the influence of the Spirit of God, he every 
where thirsts after the perfection of knowledge. 



24 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

and power, and action ; and is arrested only 
by the insuperable difficulty just mentioned, 
and beyond which it would be the merest pre- 
sumption to attempt to pass : he acknowledges 
the feebleness of his reasoning powers, but he 
directs his inquiries into every proper channel ; 
and with a chastised imagination, endeavours 
to form an acquaintance with the causes of the 
phenomena which surround him, so far as these 
have been placed within his reach. 

But how different is this portrait from that of 
the heart and soul of man under the agency of 
debasing superstition ! He has no longer to 
think for himself, or to seek the guidance of a 
merciful God in his researches. The powers 
of his reason are laid aside, to make room for a 
nameless impulse, under the influence of which 
his mind takes a peculiar form : its manifesta- 
tions assume the tinge of this prevailing bias ; 
the power of the will, the ability to choose 
good and to refuse evil, is converted into the 
desire of warding off some dreaded misfortune: 
the mind is clouded by prejudice ; its credulity 
is that of the blind man who fears all that he is 
told by those who are interested in keeping him 
from advancing ; and religion itself is blamed 
for that which owes its origin exclusively to the 
ivant of this pr^inciple. 



CHAPTER II 25 

Superstition assails us in a number of forms, 
which however may be all traced to the same 
cause. Thus, for instance, we have a variety of 
signs, and portents, and warnings of death, or 
misfortune, — more indeed than it would be easy 
to enumerate, — beginning with the equality or 
inequality of numbers, or the mode of the flight 
of birds, and terminating with the winding- 
sheet on our candles, or the peculiar howling 
of the midnight dog under our window. So, 
again, from the same principle, fear is deve- 
loped in darkness, or during the exhibition of any 
natural unexplained phenomena ; an eclipse has 
sown terror in the hearts of millions ; the 
power of unknown evil rests upon the sable 
wing of midnight ; the spirit of the storm is heard 
in that peculiar agitation of the atmosphere 
which precedes its immediate approach ; the 
thunder of the summer cloud has been consi- 
dered as the warfare of the spirits of the air ; 
and even at the present day, and in this Chris- 
tian country, it is very frequently deprecated as 
an object of apprehension, instead of being 
gratefully received as the source of great 
good; and as the appointed means of express- 
ing the eternal unchanging benevolence of the 
Almighty to his ungrateful creatures^ rather 
than as an indication of his anger. 



26 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

We are next assailed with a long list of tales 
of supernatural appearances, of sudden lights, 
and peculiar forms, of ghosts, and sundry other 
matters ; and these have not only constituted a 
ground of unnecessary alarm, but have even 
formed a basis for precaution, for suspicion, for 
unjust, or injurious, or absurd action: and thus 
some ocular spectra, the offspring of a dis- 
eased brain, have become motives for conduct ; 
and, still worse, this very conduct^ which is a 
remote consequence of disobedience to God^ is 
made to assume the appearance of doing the 
immediate will of Him w^ho is infinitely wise 
and holy. 

Another demonstration of the same principle 
is to be found in the history of certain revela- 
tions and impressions, producing a very consi- 
derable influence upon the modes of thought, 
and habits of action. An idea, and very fre- 
quently an insane idea, depending upon some 
recollected image, whose law of association we 
may perhaps be unable to trace, is invested with 
an attribute of sanctity, as being the immediate 
suggestion of Him who constantly watches over 
his creatures. In a mind predisposed to super- 
stition, this idea gains so great an influence over 
the attention, that it presently engages it exclu- 
sively ; and the patient has now approached the 



CHAPTER II. 27 

confines of that undefined territory, in which 
he will range lawlessly, from an impression that 
he is acting under the immediate agency and 
guidance, sanction and direction, of that Being, 
with whom originated, as he verily believes, 
the early delusive impression, that formed the 
first link in this chain of deviation from healthy 
function. 

A variety of the same tyrant principle may 
be observed in ascribing the operation of na- 
tural bad passion to direct satanic influence ; 
by which means persons sometimes excuse 
their misconduct on the plea of not acting from 
the will, but under the resistless impulse of a 
power of evil superior (by the supposition) to 
the highest effort of that will. I am aware of 
what the Scriptures of truth teach us respect- 
ing the existence and the agency of that spiri- 
tual enemy, who goeth about seeking whom he 
may devour : but the worst that he can do 
against us is in the way of evil suggestions, 
adapted to our corrupt propensities. The Crea- 
tor has endued him with no active power over 
us ; he cannot operate upon us except through 
the medium of our own will ; but persons are 
often better pleased to throw the blame of that 
which is evil in their hearts upon the influence 
of Satan, than upon their own indulgence of 



28 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

sinful passion and corrupt propensity ; as if the 
facility with which they fall into the snare of 
the devil, and are taken captive by him^ did not 
equally prove that permanent tendency to wrong 
which showed that the heart was deceitful and 
desperately wicked. What is commonly called 
(and very frequently is) temptation, is often as- 
cribed to this especial agency, when it really 
consists in the aptitude of the mind for certain 
evil modes of action, which are embraced when 
presented to it, because there exists a corres- 
ponding feeling, a principle from within, har- 
moniously combining with every outward ac- 
tion of a similar character. 

Another step in advance, and we meet the 
whole tribe of dreams, visions, reveries, and 
the like, — frequently the offspring of recollected 
impressions disjoined from their original trains 
of association ; or resulting from a bad habit of 
indulging the love of mental wandering with- 
out guidance, or fixed rule, or definite object ; 
or depending upon the organ of mind, variously 
irritated by immediate or intermediate connexion 
or sympathy with the morbid action of such 
other organ of the body as may happen to form 
the nucleus of that preponderating disorder of 
function which overturns the balance of health. 

Next appears for consideration the lengthened 



CHAPTER IT. 29 

train of vulgar prophecies. — We need not go 
beyond the instance of Johanna Southcote, to 
perceive that there is no folly so great but that 
it v^ill find a corresponding trait of imbecility in 
the character of many with which it readily as- 
similates ; and if this future should happen to 
possess a pretended association with religion, 
the dupe of the designing, or of the infatuated 
and misled, may become the disciple, or the 
founder, of a new sect, a zealous partizan of 
its views, a devotee to his newly-formed opi- 
nions, and a worshipper at the altar lie has 
erected ; he receives the seal of his safety, and 
becomes the fully-formed enthusiast. 

One step more in the descending scale of 
credulity, and we meet with a belief in the per- 
formance of vulgar miracles : as if the Author of 
nature would permit his laws to be interrupted, 
except to prove his own Divinity, to show that 
His is the creative power, that this power is 
superior to the laws of the universe, and that 
therefore he is God. Of the claims to miracu- 
lous agency in these latter days, the history of 
animal magnetism may be referred entirely to a 
well-timed employment of certain known phy- 
sical laws on the part of the designing magne- 
tizer, and to the influence of an exalted imagi- 
nation under such physical agency on the part 



30 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

of the magnetized. The sacred advantages 
arising from the possession of the Holy Sca- 
pular,* may be adjusted, partly by the selfish 
and avaricious influence of a crafty priesthood — 
partly by the falsehood of the narrative — and 
partly by purely physical and mechanical 
agency. The existence of Anne Moore with- 
out taking any sustenance, has been satisfac- 
torily traced to imposture; and the astonishing 
cures of Prince Hohenlohe, if authentic, are to 
be explained upon the principle of unlimited 
credence, producing such an effect upon the 
animal fibre as to suspend for a time the morbid 
action which was previously going on ; and 
which, in certain constitutions, might then be 
entirely superseded by the commencement of a 
new train of healthy associations. The same 
explanation will apply to the agency of charms 
n dispelling the returns of ague, and other in- 

"^ Some of my readers may not be aware that the Holy 
Scapular is supposed to be in imitation of a portion of the 
dress of the Virgin Mary, which, having been consecrated by 
the priest and sold to the 'people^ will defend the purchaser 
and wearer from many imminent dangers, from death in a 
thousand forms, and from various other evils. The history of 
the Holy Scapular forms an interesting and valuable monu- 
ment of the influence of a secular priesthood, and of the de- 
gradation of human nature, by which it is placed in a situa- 
tion for believing such monstrous absurdities, and for rever- 
ng, nay adoring their authors ! 



CHAPTER Tf. 31 

termittent irritations depending upon a law of 
the nervous system, by which a certain periodi- 
city of action is observed ; and the same func- 
tions^ whether healthy or diseased, commence 
at similar hours, and are continued by habit, 
and by the persistence of similar conditions. 

To this enumeration may be added, lastly, 
the whole system of dupery^ involved by the 
mystic science of astrology, and its pigmy off- 
spring — divination, casting nativities, and for- 
tune-telling. The influence of this latter form 
of superstition upon the mind, is very consi- 
derable ; and even at the present hour exerts 
an agency, far greater than could be believed 
by those who contemplate the barefaced kna- 
very which it involves, had it not been actually 
traced by others who have obtained extensive 
opportunities of observation ; aye, and this 
agency is exerted even upon those whose minds 
by education and situation ought to have been 
exempted from this grossest fanaticism. Now 
all these several forms of superstition may be 
referred to one or more of the following causes. 

I. The most fruitful source of superstition, 
and indeed that which characterises every other 
cause, is the belief of that which is false, or 
contrary to reason and revelation, as regards 
the agency of a Divine power. The God of 



32 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the Christian is a being of infinite mercy and 
love; his compassion is unbounded; he pities 
the wanderings of his creatures ; he is slow to 
anger ; his knowledge, his wisdom, and his 
power, are equalled only by his benevolence and 
tenderness. And although his children have 
broken his laws, forgotten his precepts, and in- 
curred the penalties due to their disobedience, 
he is anxious to receive them back to his fa- 
vour ; he waits to be gracious ; he will be 
found of those who seek him ; he will blot out 
their iniquities, and will no more remember 
their transgressions, but will be reconciled to 
them through the sacrifice of Christ ; and they 
shall become his people, and walk in his ways, 
and love and serve and fear him. 

Not so the divinity of superstition, or false 
religion. The prominent attribute of every 
such form of worship, is that of an irrevocable 
fatalism : the decree has passed, and cannot be 
altered ; infinite knovv^ledge is exchanged for 
predetermination of the will, which nought can 
change ; the justice of a pure and Holy Being 
is supplanted by the capricious declaration of 
a changing mortal ; the smile of pity is super- 
seded by the frown of vengeance ; the anger of 
Him, wdio '' willeth not the death of a sinner," 
but rather that '' he turn unto Him and live;" 



CHAPTER II. 



33 



who " deferreth his anger," who " sufFereth 
long, and is kind,^^ is exchanged for the vindic- 
tive exultation of one who rejoices to punish sin, 
who glorifies himself in the weakness and frail- 
ties of mankind, and who is honoured by the 
deepening crimes of those who shall ultimately 
receive his proffered grace. From these false 
views will result fear and dread, not reverence 
and love. The desire of averting the wrath of 
God will usurp the place of a wish to serve, 
obey, and please him ; his moral attributes will 
be misrepresented ; it will be supposed, that 
He, who is above all human frailty, may be in- 
fluenced by passion ; and this error will be 
augmented and perpetuated by the influence of 
our own natural feelings and emotions, and by a 
conviction of our feebleness, contrasted with 
the power of Him with whom, under such circum- 
stances, we must have to contend. This falla- 
cious view necessarily leads to absurd opinions, 
and to acts of worship, or ridiculous ceremo- 
nies, to avert the anger or propitiate the good- 
ness of Him who ruleth in the heavens, but 
who is an object of terror only to the finally im- 
penitent. A considerate review of this first 
cause of superstition will show how important 
it is to form sound and rational, that is, true 

D 



34 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

and scriptural, views on the subject, and will 
lead US to notice, 

2. Ignorance, as another fertile source of 
these false impressions. This cause, in pro- 
ducing its effect, will operate both upon the 
physical and the raental system. The former 
mode of causation will be presently considered, 
w^hen we come to speak of the peculiar in- 
fluence of different states of the brain ; we shall 
in this place, therefore, only remark the moral 
effects of this absence of knowledge. By it, 
the sphere of intellectual vision is contracted, 
the spirit of inquiry is arrested, the genius of 
truth is enthralled by a fatal lethargy which it 
cannot dissipate, and the phantoms which 
arise from its uneasy slumbers, are at once the 
offspring and the nurse of superstition. The 
ignorant man looks at nature with a gaze of 
wonder, which is easily converted into awe : 
for an essential ingredient in many of her most 
sublime phenomena, is a certain portion of 
terror, so chastised by an acquaintance with 
their rationale, as to become a source of plea- 
sure: but so terrible when unexplained, as to 
afford ground for superstitious reverence, in- 
stead of rational admiration and adoring grati- 
tude. And when the mind has been brought 



CHAPTER IT. 35 

into this state, the gradation is most easy, by 
which it insensibly glides into the habit of as- 
cribing all these natural grand spectacles to the 
immediate and special agency of a superior 
being, of whose character the only idea which it 
forms is derived from the terror by which it has 
been inspired, and in consequence of which it 
partakes largely of the false and injurious no- 
tions which we have just contemplated as a 
principal cause of this dangerous tendency. 

If to this want of knowledge of the laws of 
the universe, be added ignorance of the moral 
attributes of Him^ *' who rides upon the whirl- 
wind, and manages the storm," we have the 
mind at once subjected to the fully-formed 
agency of superstition. The history of man- 
kind will corroborate this conclusion ; for we 
perceive the greater or less influence of this 
principle, exactly in proportion as the human 
mind is expanded by the glow of intelligence, 
or v/ithered and contracted by the blast of de- 
solation, by that destitution of information 
which will leave man in the gloomy night into 
which sin had originally plunged him. Thus, 
in the earlier stages of society, and in situa- 
tions to which the lioht of science has not vet 
extended its awakening beams, this principle is 
most prominent ; and in the more civilized and 

D 2 



36 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

intelligent quarters of the globe, it is found to 
prevail particularly among weak and unculti- 
vated minds, and it is dissipated in proportion 
as education and principle make their way. 
These have disenchanted many a hamlet of its 
popular legend: the ghosts and fairies of for- 
mer times, which have claimed the privilege of 
nightly visitation^ have been exorcised by its 
rays, and have fled before the breath of morn- 
ing air; and the ignorant worship of the *' un- 
known God" has been exchanged for devotion 
of the heart to the service of Him, '* who is not 
far from every one of us ; for in Him we live, 
and move, and have our being." Again, this 
influence is more particularly visible in fe- 
males; and how is this to be explained, but 
partly by supposing that they are not so much 
in the habit of investigating the laws of nature, 
and of reasoning upon them, so that they are 
more subjected to this general agency ; and 
principaUii, from that increased susceptibility of 
the nervous system, which belongs to their pe- 
culiar physical temperament^ and which has 
been fostered by their modes and habits of life, 
by indulgence, and by the absence of that sea- 
sonable control which alone can discipline the 
mind into obedience to principle and reason ? 
This cause will be again noticed, and will then 



CHAPTER ir. 37 

serve to explain another seeming anomaly ; 
namely, that though superstition is the off- 
spring, the inheritance, and the mark of a weak 
mind, yet it will sometimes be found to exist 
in men of great genius, and of enlightened in- 
telligence. 

3. Fear is another cause of superstition ; 
whether it may arise from a bodily source of 
irritation, disturbing the equilibrium of brain- 
ular function, from ignorance, from erroneous 
views of the power and government of the Su- 
preme, or from a consciousness of that moral 
delinquency, w4iich indeed would afford ground 
for hopeless fear, had not a remedy been pro- 
vided in the *' balm of Gilead," the Saviour of 
the world. None can doubt, that according to 
his physical temperament, one man will be 
more or less impressible by fear, and will mani- 
fest more or less of courage, than another. This 
is visible in the inferior animals ; it is observ- 
able in children ; it is readily distinguishable in 
the adult, and it will cleave to manhood, even 
through life. This natural tendency may be 
increased by some peculiar morbid states of the 
cerebral function, which tend to throw the or- 
dinary associations into confusion ; it may be 
encouraged by a w^eak, or repressed by a judici- 
ous education ; it w^ill be rapidly brought into 



38 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

action, by the agency of false views of religion ; 
and, finally, under that merciful dispensation 
which has been revealed to us, unless we can 
contemplate God as reconciled in the person 
and sacrifice of Christ, guilt makes cowards of 
us all : we fear we know not what, because we 
instinctively dread lest every unknown agent 
may prove a messenger from that last enemy 
which will convey us to a final, unexplored 
state of existence, of whose terrors we can form 
no adequate conception, though we do know 
that it has been declared, *' There is no peace 
to the wicked." We deprecate an evil of whose 
extent we are ignorant, and we seek to avert 
it by any superstitious forms of devotion which 
we can imagine in the vanity and frowardness 
of the natural heart, unless we are led by the 
Spirit of God to come simply and humbly to 
the cross of Christ, and to ask of him grace 
and strength to do his will ; and that perfect 
love which ** casteth out fear, because fear 
hath torment." 

4. Comcidence m^ay be mentioned as another 
fruitful source of superstitious observance. 
Upon this principle may be explained the 
currency that has been given to certain warn- 
ings and tokens, with the circumstances of 
which we are liberally obtested, as having, of 



CHAPTER II. 39 

necessity, preceded some great misfortune, 
when that misfortune has actually occurred, 
but which are overlooked and forgotten in the 
thousand instances in which no such predicted 
calamities have followed. It is very possible^ 
that certain events may have occurred in such 
an order as to have become associated in idea, 
as a regular matter of sequence ; in fact, as 
cause and effect ; and yet, that the two might 
be wholly independent of each other, except 
by some whimsical affinities, or, still more fre- 
quently, by the simple accident of having oc- 
curred at the same season. 

5. Another source of superstition is fraud 
and hypocrisy. The love of power and influ- 
ence is so natural, and reigns so universally, 
that both will be sought after in every possible 
way; and they to whom nature and providence 
have not given the means of exerting such 
power, and who do not possess principle suf- 
ficient to induce them to employ their talents 
exclusively in promoting the good of those 
around them, or even to restrain them from 
seeking an extension of such influence by any 
means within their grasp, will avail themselves 
of the frailties and follies of their neighbour, 
and of all the weak points of his character, for 
this purpose ; and man will become the easy 



40 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

dupe of the designing and the unprincipled ; 
and all this from the mere love of influence in 
general, and of the consequence which it in- 
volves. This same principle will admit of ex- 
tension, and will receive a particular and deter- 
mined bias, when there is any local interest to 
serve, any boon to obtain, any duty to deprecate, 
any private object to accomplish. The faculties 
of the hypocrite will be quickened by selfish 
association ; and all the secret practices of 
knavery will be brought into action, in order to 
keep up a certain effect, and to conceal a suc- 
cessful fraud. 

6. The influence of the Imagmation, in pro- 
ducing unreal images, must not be forgotten in 
this enumeration of the sources of superstition. 
This faculty was a two-fold agency ; first, in 
its natural condition, in which, if uncontrolled, 
it has the power of creating images, and, from 
indulgence of these airy nothings, of believing 
them to be faithful portraits of realities ; and, 
secondly, when under the influence of its dis- 
eased impressions, it claims a supremacy over 
every other faculty, and will insist upon the 
prevalence of its manifestations. With regard 
to the former, one of the most common modes 
of its exhibition is that form of reverie which is 
entitled castle-building; in the course of which 



CHAPTER II. 41 

the mind invents for itself a certain possible 
situation, and then invests it with appropriate 
characters, till, under many circumstances, it 
is quite absorbed by the idea, v^hich then haunts 
its waking and its sleeping moments, and be- 
comes onerous from its obtrusiveness. There 
are very few who have not occasionally given 
the reins to this busy faculty^ and who will 
not acknowledge the vividness, intensity, and 
vraisemblance with which all objects appear, 
so that it may be difficult to persuade them that 
they are not real. 

Another evidence of the common operation 
of this faculty with which the mind embodies 
for itself various figures, is easily obtained ; as, 
for instance, when we intently watch the slow 
progress of ignition in our fires, or the peculiar 
shapes of clouds, or the undefined forms of 
moonlight, or the fantastic appearances assumed 
by the driven snow. In all these instances, 
there is a creation of spectra, and, by going a 
certain number of steps further, under the in- 
fluence of a morbid imagination, a person may 
even imagine them moral or spiritual agents, 
and invest them with appropriate attributes, 
which, because their qualities are unknown, 
will develop fear, give rise to credulity, and to 



42 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

that firm belief in their existence, and their 
power, which is not easily dissipated. The ab- 
surd fables of mythology may assist to show 
that I have not overstated my position. 

A further illustration of the same principle, 
is to be found in the aptitude with which we 
invent actors for specific scenes ; and, not con- 
tented with considering them as abstractions, 
we think and speak of them as persons, — nay 
more, as particular individuals ; and we ima- 
gine their form, and feature, and expression. 
It is by this property that w^e fabricate for 
ourselves an idea of persons we have never 
seen^ but which we consider as appropriate 
to certain characters, and as expressive of cer- 
tain habits and modes of action. Nor does 
this process terminate with the simple ascrip- 
tion of form and feature, to action and progres- 
sion : for, by the law of association, these pri- 
mary forms are connected with other forms ; 
and from these again are reproduced images 
of which we do not recollect the germs and 
first impressions, because their fantastic group- 
ing has given them an air of novelty which dis- 
sociates them from their original stocks, and 
occasions them to be considered as creations 
arising from a power extrinsic to the mind 



CHAPTER II. 43 

itself. This fruitful source of many of the 
forms of supernatural appearance, must not be 
forgotten. 

But there is yet another property of the imagi- 
nation, by which it not only invents persons and 
situations, in due subordination to some fancied 
or rational arrangement, but also invests them 
v^ath attributes v^hich they do not possess, and 
then drav^s conclusions as real, v^hich the cir- 
cumstances of the case v^ould not admit even 
as rationally conjectural. Commonly too, it 
takes care that these should be attributes of 
fearful interest ; for it delights to exert a tor- 
menting influence over the other mental mani- 
festations, and to divert them from the steady 
pursuit of truth. 

These creations of the fancy will be charac- 
terised by the situation of the individual ; and 
by the degree in which education has developed 
his intellectual powers, the closeness with which 
he has been accustomed to reason, and the ex- 
tent to which he has disciplined his mind to 
believe only that which is real ; I mean not, 
that which is supported exclusively by the 
evidence of one or more of his senses, or which 
admits of demonstration ; but that which is 
founded on sound principle, and is consistent 
with rea&on, that which rests on unbiassed and 



44 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

unprejudiced human testimony, or that which 
is based on Divine revelation. Moreover, these 
imaginative musings v^^ill be influenced by the 
particular state of the brain, and v^ill take a 
cheerful or a melancholy tinge, accordingly as 
that organ may have been roused by determi- 
nation of blood to its vessels^ or as it may have 
been depressed by congestion, or by the agency 
of fear and disappointment. Again, as it may 
have been strengthened by use, and expanded 
by acquisition, or enfeebled by indolence, and 
shrivelled by narrov^-mindedness ; and still 
farther, as it may have been influenced by an 
undue excitement of its ov^n, or by that of some 
neighbouring or associated viscus, its creations 
w^ill partake of gloom and distress, or of cheer- 
fulness and enthusiasm. These, however, are 
only natural productions ; but there are many 
morbid conditions which will more readily be 
classed under the last source of superstition ; 
namely, 

7. The influence exerted by the brain in its 
physiological and pathological state : brainular ir- 
litatioii of any kind, which in certain cases may 
border very nearly on insanity ; the approach of 
disease ; the return of convalescence ; protracted 
wakefulness ; too long indulged sleep ; and a va- 
riety of other agents, differing in their degree. 



CHAPTER II. 45 

but all agreeing in one principle, that of exert- 
ing a certain baneful influence upon the organ 
of mind. Most of the causes of superstition 
which I have just enumerated, tend also to 
produce this effect upon the brain : for it must 
be remembered that every mental impression 
occasions also a certain movement of the organ 
through which that impression is transmitted, or 
is simply rendered cognizable ; and that by this 
combined agency is promoted a condition of 
that viscus peculiarly favourable to the deve- 
lopment of superstitiousi mages. Thus, for 
instance, erroneous views on the subject of 
religion place the spiritual principle in a situa- 
tion liable to be acted upon easily by impres- 
sions of fearful interest ; but, on the other hand, 
the influence which these exert upon the brain, 
also predisposes that organ to a similar action 
— renders it susceptible of the like impressions 
— and induces a state of irritability, during the 
continuance of which, itself is very much in- 
clined to create these unreal phantasms by a 
certain peculiar licence of its own. 

Again, ignorance has a two-fold influence : 
first, by withholding truth from the mental 
contemplation ; and next, by withdrawing the 
aptitude for correct thought from the brainular 
organ. Its function remains undeveloped, and 



46 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION 



its capacity for action is diminished, the evils 
of indolence and bad habit rest upon it ; it 
becomes more completely the organ of the 
animal nature, and more abstracted from spi- 
ritual influence ; its mental operations are all 
inadequately performed ; it is unaccustomed to 
correct discipline, and hence becomes accessi- 
ble to impulse : erroneous impressions find a 
ready access where there is no countervailing 
strength of truth ; irritability is accumulated 
from the absence of a due proportion of employ- 
ment, and therefore it is liable to those inordi- 
nate excitements and depressions which are 
common to any and every other organ, whose 
exercise and repose are not nicely balanced ; 
but which are 'peculiarly operative upon the 
brain, because it is the centre of the nervous or 
sensitive system. 

Fear, the coincidence of events, the creations 
of fraud, and the agency of imagination, will all 
be found to exert a similar power upon the mind 
and its organ, placing it in that peculiar state 
in which it is ready to be acted upon by slight in- 
tangible trains of association, calling up images 
of superstitious importance; or in which, by its 
wayward operations, it develops creations pe- 
culiarly its own, and is unable to distinguish 
between them and real impressions. This effect 



CHAPTER II. 47 

may have been greatly augmented by early 
habit, resulting from the influence of ghost 
stories, and other nursery tales ; producing at 
the time such a powerful impression upon the 
brain, as to leave behind them ever afterwards 
a susceptibility to their re-development, which 
no time will remove, and no subsequent reason- 
ing can eradicate. For the moment the man of 
cultivated intellect yields all the powers of his 
enlightened j udgment to the indulgence of unreal 
phantasms, because he cannot control or su- 
persede that vivid impression which was Jirst 
made upon the sensorial organ> and which still 
claims a superiority over his better principles 
and feelings. Let this teach us to pity, not to 
blame or ridicule, those who have been unable 
to escape from shackles thus thoughtlessly or 
wickedly imposed ; and let it operate as a sti- 
mulus to others who feel this agency, to rise 
from the thraldom of its oppression, and, by a 
successful exertion of principle^ to shake off the 
manacles of early brainular impression. 

But if all this be true, we are prepared to 
understand how 6?;2j/ disturbance of the cerebral 
function may overturn the felance of healthy 
action, and produce the diseased state in ques- 
tion ; we can comprehend that the deepening 
shades of mental alienation will give energy to 



48 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

this morbid state^ by depressing further and 
further the scale of health ; we can appreciate 
the influence exerted upon every portion of the 
nervous system, by the Jirst impression of dis- 
ease, or by the substitution of the new train of 
healthy actions in the period of convalescence, 
when the links of morbid association have been 
only just broken through; we can allow the 
influence exerted upon this organ by the dis- 
tant sympathetic irritation of any other function 
of the body in a state of suff'ering, or of any 
particular article of diet or medicine ; we can 
estimate the agency of long vigilance, producing 
susceptibility to impression of every kind ; or 
of too much sleep giving rise to hebetude of the 
intellectual power, and a disposition to erro- 
neous spontaneous action, rather than remain 
subjected to the morbid state of no action at all ; 
and we can trace in all these several states a 
peculiar deviation from health on the part of 
the brainular organ : which peculiarity there- 
fore probably forms the proximate cause for the 
development, belief and indulgence of all the 
several forms of superstition. This is the pro- 
position^ on which mainly rests the object 
of these essays ; and it will be necessary to 
develop it at some length. The great source of 
mistake consists in forgetting the materiality of 



CHAPTER II. 49 

the brain, and its consequent liability to be acted 
upon by physical causes. The writer distinctly 
avows it as his belief, that supernatural appear- 
ances do actually depend upon a peculiar condition 
of the brain, in consequence of which that organ 
has escaped the control of the presiding mind, and 
continues to act without direction or guidance : 
but before we can apply this proposition to the 
several forms of superstitious manifestation, we 
must consider at some length the functions of 
the brain, in a state of health and of disease. 



CHAPTER III. 

Materiality of the Brain, and its subjection to the agency of 
physical causes. — It is the organ of mind, and will influ- 
ence its manifestations. — It is liable to morbid action, 
according to the particular organ in a state of irritation : — 
proofs of this position, arising out of simple, and morbid, 
and sympathetic excitement of the brain. 

It was stated in the last chapter, that the 
various phenomena of superstition, and espe- 
cially alleged supernatural appearances, de- 
pend upon a morbid condition of the brain, in 
consequence of which it has escaped' the due 
control of the presiding mind. In order to 
apply this proposition to the several forms of 
superstitious manifestation, it is necessary to 
describe the functions of the brain in a state 
of health and of disease. 

I. The brain is a material organ, and is lia- 
ble to be acted upon by many physical causes. 



CHAPTER ITI. 51 

This is almost a self-evident proposition, 
since we see that it is possessed of extension, 
figure, solidity, and of a certain degree of in- 
variable structural arrangement. It is true that 
we are unacquainted with the ultimate cerebral 
fibre, or with the reason why these fibres are 
assembled according to their present form ; 
and it is also true, that we are unacquainted 
with the mode of their function : but we con- 
clude, from very close analogy, that the brain 
is most perfectly adapted to its peculiarity of 
function, because we know that this is the case 
with other organs and functions of the body ; 
and because we find, from observation, that 
this office is more or less perfectly performed, 
according to varying circumstances of original 
character, and physiological manifestation, as 
well as according to the phenomena of health 
or indisposition. Now, as such, the brain will 
require a due and regular supply of fine and 
healthy blood, exactly in proportion to the ex- 
tent and importance of its agency in the animal 
economy; and its functions will be feebly and 
irritably carried on if that supply be defective 
in quantity, or less highly animalized than in 
its most perfect state. On the contrary, it will 
be oppressed, if the supply should exceed the 
demand of ordinary expenditure : and it will 

e2 



52 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

be variously irritated and disturbed, if that 
blood shall not have undergone its proper 
purifying change in the lungs ; and, more es- 
pecially, if it shall have been charged with any 
noxious qualities ; according to the extent of 
its deterioration, the intensity of the conse- 
quent morbid impression, and the disordered 
changes with which it is associated. 

But, since the brain also forms the centre of 
nervous sympathy, it is intimately connected 
with many other viscera, whose functions can- 
not be carried on without the assistance derived 
from this organ, and whose infinitely varied 
disturbances are all propagated by a reflex ac- 
tion to this common centre. Thus, disorder 
of stomach will interfere with the integrity of 
brainular action, and head-ache, languor, and 
inaptitude for mental exertion, are the con- 
sequence. This state continuing a certain 
length of time, or being frequently repeated, 
will, in a constitution so predisposed, give rise 
to hypochondriasis: and, in a still more aggra- 
vated form of impression, this hypochondriasis 
may be exchanged for deeper mental aberration : 
and thus the due functions of the brain will be 
suspended — perhaps irrecoverably destroyed — 
by the reflex action of disorder, whose first 
point of irritation was in the stomach. 



CHAPTER III. 53 

Again : the skin is an important organ ; and 
a simple morbid impression made upon it will 
sometimes occasion a degree of cerebral dis- 
turbance. Even in common catarrh, the 
earliest symptoms will very generally be those 
of unwonted drowsiness and oppression : these 
will be followed by chills, and a certain wan- 
dering of intellectual manifestation, which in- 
dicates that the brain is not under the usual 
control of the will ; and when the subsequent 
re-action has occurred, it will be accompanied 
by pain in the head, excited susceptibility to 
sensorial impression, and general disposition to 
over-action. When this first impression may 
have been more intense, particularly if it shall 
have resulted from the invasion of fever of a 
specific character, the cerebral disturbance will 
be more distinctly characterized ; and the de- 
viations from correct, congruous, coherent, and 
consecutive thought, will be more apparent. 
This is so manifestly the case, that some au- 
thors have placed the seat of fever exclusively 
in the brain, because that organ always suffers 
more or less ; forgetting that, although it has 
to bear its own peculiar burdens, it is also call- 
ed upon to sympathize, when any other organ 
of the body is afiected with morbid irritation ; 
thus proying that it is eminently the organ 



54 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

which is most under the influence of physical 
disturbance. 

Again : every person may have remarked the 
unwonted irritability which attaches to con- 
valescents. And, be it remarked, that it is un- 
wonted : they who have borne long, sub- 
missively, and patiently, with great suffering, 
become impatient and irritable as soon as they 
begin to recover ; and this, not from a feeling 
of having exhausted a long-tried stock of pa- 
tience, but from a peculiar state of the brain, 
which it requires a great mental effort to con- 
trol. Every person who has experienced 
this return from sickness to health, knows this 
to be the fact : and it is manifest in children, 
who would not be subjected to these effects, if 
they arose from an exhaustion of the influence 
of patience and submission, as moral motives ; 
but who do equally experience this irritability, 
which takes its origin from a purely physical 
condition, and which observers actually hail 
as the harbinger of returning health ; because, 
even to the observation of those who reason not 
upon its causes, this indication has been as- 
sociated by experience with the setting in of 
a new train of healthy actions. 

Nor let the sincere Christian be fearful of 
avowing his belief in the physical origin of a 



CHAPTER III. 55 

state which he so much deplores : let him 
indeed be cautious of making this an excuse 
for peevishness and restlessness ; let him be- 
ware of crying Peace, where there can be no 
real peace, — that is, if this temper of mind be 
not combated : and while, on the one hand, he 
ought not to adopt that harsh and unjust judg- 
ment which would produce a doubt of his in- 
terest in the Saviour's atonement, because of the 
existence, which he mourns over, of feelings thus 
opposed to the meekness and patience of that 
Saviour's example ; let him, on the other hand, 
deplore this state, though a physical condition, 
as an evidence of that debasing influence of sin 
which has been exerted upon the manifesta- 
tions of mind, and upon the organ through which 
they are made. Let him consider this painful 
struggle as a portion of the trial of his faith and 
patience, and as perhaps rendered especially 
necessary at a period when the overwhelming 
gratitude of recovery renders the mind peculiarly 
liable to be less watchful than usual, and to 
those oscillations of feeling which take place 
rapidly, and often imperceptibly, under the in- 
fluence of powerful emotion. Let him become 
guarded in his joy, and remember to '* watch 
unto prayer." Let him recollect that he is 
called upon to grapple with this physical con- 
dition, and by a powerful mental efl'ort, made 



56 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

in dependance upon the assistance of the Holy- 
Spirit, the Sanctifier, to keep his heart with all 
diligence, to preserve it stayed upon his God, 
to cultivate a devotional spirit, and to show 
forth the glory of the Saviour by more closely- 
imitating his example. There is, then, no plea 
for indolence, no excuse for supineness : the 
existence of feebleness call upon him for the 
display of energy, and invites him to seek for 
strength where alone it can be found. 

Again : the effect of some articles of food or 
medicine will confirm my principal position. A 
certain moderate quantity of wine will render 
the individual more cheerful, give brilliancy to 
his ideas, and stimulate the organ of thought 
to more intense exertion. A larger dose of the 
same fluid will make one individual outrage- 
ously joyous and noisy, while another will be- 
come stupid and melancholic, according to his 
peculiar temperament ; and a still larger quan- 
tity will abolish consciousness from both alike : 
and absolute intoxication will destroy all traces 
of the rational creature. The influence of se- 
veral medicines will be presently noticed among 
the morbid trains of cerebral impression : it is 
here only necessary to state, that they are 
varied and extensive. 

Once more : bodily fatigue will induce a de- 
gree of cerebral irritability, which, in ordinary 



CHAPTER IIL 57 

cases, will prevent the usual approach of sleep, 
and give rise to such a susceptibility of the 
nervous system, that it will be prepared for 
any morbid impression. A similar effect will 
be produced by the excitement of society, or 
by emotion of any kind, of an intense character ; 
thus showing that the brain, as a material organ, 
is similarly acted upon both by causes from 
within, and by those which attach more par- 
ticularly to exterior nature ; by mental exer- 
tion, and by physical influence. On the other 
hand, too much sleep produces an effect of a 
different kind : the patient rises with a dull 
obtuse headache ; he feels that his perceptions 
are obscured, that he is stupid, that he wants 
his usual activity of body and mind, that his 
spirits are oppressed, and that he misses his 
customary cheerfulness. Now the difference 
of these two conditions consists in this : in the 
former case, there is increased action of the 
arteries of the brain, and the individual is con- 
scious of the change ; in the latter, there is a 
sluggish congested state of the veins; thus 
proving, that, according to these varying phy- 
sical states, the manifestations of mind are 
different, and even opposite, and that the organ 
is a material one — mainly influenced by phy- 
sical causes. But enough has been said for 



58 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

my present purpose : the several forms of cere- 
bral delusion and morbid action will be noticed 
hereafter. 

II. This material organ, thus influenced by 
physical causes, is the organ of mind, and will 
characterize, not, indeed, its essence, its real 
character, but its manifestations, by its opera- 
tion upon the ideas conveyed to the immaterial 
spirit from without, as well as upon those pro- 
duced by its unaided and spontaneous action 
from within. Man possesses an internal con- 
sciousness that the brain is the organ through 
which he thinks, reasons, remembers, imagines, 
distinguishes, and performs other mental opera- 
tions : and this consciousness is as positive as 
would be that of the hand being the organ of 
prehension to a blind person, who sought after 
an acquaintance with the properties of matter 
through this medium. 

Indeed, when we recollect that man is a com- 
pound creature, — made up of a perishable body, 
and of an imperishable mind, — we see how im- 
possible it would be for that body to be subject- 
ed to the influence of mind, unless it possessed 
with the latter some medium of communication ; 
and, consequently, that, without this medium, 
man's moral responsibility would be destroyed. 
It is true, that the omniscient Creator might 



CHAPTER III. 59 

have subjected the body to a purely spiritual 
influence, without any corporeal mode of com- 
munication with it ; because He is also omni- 
potent. But then it is manifest, that there 
would have been no consciousness of personal 
identity ; and man would not be able to dis- 
tinguish that which resulted from the influence 
of bodily association, from that which was 
prompted by this mysterious presiding spirit : 
from all which we infer the excellence of the 
present arrangement ; and we exclaim from the 
heart, " O Lord, how excellent are thy works! 
in wisdom hast thou made them all." In this 
way also man feels that he is a responsible agent, 
because he is conscious of this mental action, 
and knows that the brain is subjected to the 
influence of volition. For an attention to all 
its actions and promptings, therefore, he is im- 
mediately answerable ; and for the indulgence of 
all the suggestions of the spirit, he is equally, 
though remotely, accountable ; because he is 
furnished with the faculty of discriminating 
good from evil, and with the power of choosing 
the one and refusing the other: and then it 
will follow, that, if responsible for the indul- 
gence of spiritual suggestions, he must be in- 
creasingly amenable for those actions and pas- 
sions which arise from every germ of evil, but 



60 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION, 



which would never obtain their full develop- 
ment unaided by their appropriate organs of 
expression. *' Who can understand his errors? 
Cleanse thou me from secret faults : keep back 
thy servant also from presumptuous sins : let 
them not have dominion over me." 

If we required a proof at once that the brain 
is the organ of mind, and that it is at the same 
time material, it would be found in the com- 
mon influence of intense thought ; as, for in- 
stance, in the writer of the present essay, when 
engaged upon a subject requiring his whole at- 
tention, the extremities are cold, while the head 
is proportionally heated : but let him lay aside 
his pen, or only divert his thoughts to a current 
of minor importance, and, in less than three 
minutes, the feet will be glowing with a return 
of the circulation of blood in the extremities ; 
and this phenomenon happens not one night only, 
but every night, in the midst of summer as well 
as in winter. So extraordinary and invariable 
a circumstance must surely have some mode of 
rational explanation. It is not sufficient to say, 
that the attention is deeply engaged, and there- 
fore the circulation of the blood is sluggish. 
The circulation, as such, has nothing to do with 
this faculty ; we cannot by mere attention in- 
crease or diminish one pulsation. Half the 



CHAPTER III. 61 

errors of mankind arise from their unwillingness 
to observe, and from their preference of pre- 
conceived opinions to the investigation of facts. 
But let us attend for a moment to the process 
just detailed : what does it prove ? 

First, That intense thought excites brainular 
action : 

Secondly, That this increased action requires 
a larger supply of blood than usual to support 
it: 

Thirdly, That by a physical law this supply 
is sent to the organ which particularly requires 
it ; and, therefore, that the extreme parts of 
the system, those at a great distance from the 
centre of the circulation, and from the organ in 
a state of excitation, as well as those which are 
inactive^ all obtain deficient supplies of blood, 
and become cold in consequence : 

Fourthly, That this increased action, being 
produced by thought, proves the brain to be 
the organ through which the operations of the 
immaterial spirit are carried on ; and that its 
active functions can only be supported by a 
larger supply of blood than is necessary to sus- 
tain its mere vitality, or even to maintain the 
vigour of its bodily agency : and it follows, that 
since this organ of thought requires the assist- 
ance of a material fluid, in order to support this 



62 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

excited action, itself also must be material ; a 
fact which is even more fully shown by the pro- 
vision which has been made for granting this 
increased supply without injury to the organ : 
but if this be granted, the consequence is ine- 
vitable, — 

Fifthly, That the brain must be liable to dis- 
order of function from a deficient, redundant, 
or ill-timed supply of this fluid ; or from any 
imperfection in its vital properties ; or from any 
deleterious change which it may have under- 
gone in its elaboration, or under the influence of 
disease, or from a thousand other bodily causes ; 
as well as from many intangible mental associa- 
tions, so finely connected that it may be im- 
possible to trace them, and yet which it would 
be absurd to deny. Hence it follows. 

Sixthly, That there may be many morbid 
states of thought, and feeling, and perception, 
with which we are utterly unacquainted. But if 
the brain be the organ of mind, and if it be 
thus physically and morally related, it will hap- 
pen that the common internal actions of the 
mind, though necessarily perfect in themselves, 
may be variously altered in their manifestations 
by transmission through this material organ ; 
and that no one can ever hope to arrive at a 
true philosophy of mind, unless he will submit 



CHAPTER III. 63 

to consider the action and re-action of spirit 
upon matter, and of matter upon spirit ; nor 
unless he will allow that their mutual operations 
may be variously influenced by different cor- 
poreal states, and more especially by disease. 

III. The brain is subjected to a variety of 
morbid impressions^ which will produce corres- 
ponding alterations upon the mental manifesta- 
tions ; a proposition which will be subsequently 
developed, in treating of the effects arising from 
various morbid causes, acting upon the nervous 
system. 

IV. The important corollary from the forego- 
ing propositions is, That the morbid impressions 
upon the organ of mind will be characterized 
by the particular bodily or mental source whence 
they were originally derived, and will thus ad- 
mit of many variations. A friendwhose testimony 
may be relied upon, and whose cool judgment 
enables him to watch the agency of disease, 
has often told me, that when suffering from de- 
termination of blood to the head, he always 
feels a tendency to undue elation ; and, on the 
contrary, to depression whenever the digestive 
functions are disordered. 

The sanguine expectations of consumptive 
patients, and the degree in which hope is fondly 
cherished by them, even when the last remnant 



64 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION, 



of vitality is well nigh exhausted, are prover- 
bial, and form a perfect contrast with the de- 
pression and hypochondriacal feelings of those 
who suffer from disordered dio-estive functions. 
Indeed, the very term hypochondriasis, like other 
corresponding Greek and Latin words, such as 
melanchoh^ and atrabiliarian, show how com- 
pletely the ancients referred this brainular state 
to the influence of those distant organs. 

Again, aft'ections of the heart are character- 
ized by a great degree of anxiety and solicitude, 
but are not usually accompanied by depressed 
spirits. All these facts are generally admitted. 
The evil consists in this, — that they have been 
received as true, without reasoning upon them, 
or inquiring into their cause. But do they not 
prove that the organ of mind is variously affected 
by the morbid sympathies of distant func- 
tions,— and that too according to a rule, which, 
though not understood, experience and obser- 
vation have enabled us to predict ? And if this 
be undeniably the case, with regard to a few 
forms of morbid impression with which we are 
acquainted, is it not fair to infer that a similar 
influence viay be exerted, though probably by a 
somewhat different method of expression, by 
the unnumbered modes of diseased association 
which we cannot trace— -not only with regard to 



CHAPTER HI. 65 

the important organs already specified, but to 
several others, with whose particular agency we 
may be unacquainted ? And, if so, may not a 
variety of morbid celebral impressions be re- 
ferred to some one of these different causes : — 
and may not its hallucinations be satisfactorily 
accounted for upon this principle ? 

V. We come next to examine the influence 
of several morbid states of the brain, in order 
to prove and illustrate these positions. 

1. Simple ejpciteme7it, whether excessive in 
degree, or only moderate but long continued, 
will produce a slight deviation from health, 
which in some cases will be remedied by re- 
pose ; and, in others, will occasion more or less 
of permanent disorder. But in both instances 
the brain will ultimately suffer ; and the func- 
tions of body, and the manifestations of mind, 
will be impaired, enfeebled, or even altered 
For too great activity of the brain expends ra- 
pidly the stock of nutrition ; and every atten- 
tive observer of himself must have noticed the 
fatigue induced by mental occupation, — the 
muscular feebleness, the weariness which come 
over him. And again, — under other circum- 
stances he will have remarked how much bodily 
exertion he could encounter, so long as his 
mind was .at peace, or cheered by hope, and 

F 



66 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

aniaiated by joyful expectation ; and how soon 
he became exhausted if the spirit had been ruf- 
fled by any teazing occurrences ; if the germ of 
displeasure rankled in his bosom ; if he had 
been vexed by disappointment, or harassed by 
the dissipation of fancy's airy and glowing vi- 
sions; or if from any other cause depression 
had brooded over the future, and enveloped his 
prospects with her sable mantle of fear and un- 
certainty. 

Further, — this state of the brain disturbs the 
digestive process ; and, therefore, not only ex- 
hausts the present stock, but diminishes the 
future supply of nutrition. For, in order to the 
completeness of this process, it is necessary 
that an increased quantity of blood be deter- 
mined to the stomach, in order that the nervous 
energy may be accumulated upon that organ ; 
so that rest of body, and freedom from disquiet- 
ino', or even joyful emotion, or much thought, 
should be observed. If, on the contrary, the 
brain be intently engaged by intellectual occu- 
pation, it calls for that supply of blood, which 
ought to be sent to the stomach, to perfect its 
secretions ; and the same fluid cannot be found 
at the same time in two places ; nervous energy 
is rapidly strained ofl* from its source, and there- 
fore cannot be spared for a distant organ : the 



CHAPTER III. ^ 67 

individual possesses an intellectual and spiri- 
tual existence, but forgets the necessities of his 
compound nature ; the animal functions, in con- 
sequence, suffer deeply ; the stomach becomes 
enfeebled — it digests imperfectly ; assimilation 
of the undigested mass is impossible, and the 
function of nutrition can only be half performed. 
As proofs of this position, I need only mention 
the effect produced upon the stomach by any 
sudden mental impression : as^ for instance, 
when it is empty, and the desire for food is 
urgent, appetite will be instantly destroyed by 
such an occurrence; and appetite in a healthy 
state of the organs and their secretions, is the 
expression of the power of digesting food ; and^ 
on the other hand, when the stomach is filled, al- 
though this power shall have precedingly existed, 
indigestion, with all its train of consequences, 
will be the result. The effect of hard reading 
upon the studious is notorious. A gradual 
wasting of the body, enfeebled muscular power 
and general debility, proclaim the exhausting 
influence vv^hich brainular excitement has ex- 
erted upon the frame. A common hair-dresser, 
wholly ignorant of science, said the other day 
to a friend of mine, who is prematurely grey- 
headed, *' I presume, sir, you have been a close 
student." ■ '* And why so?" '' Because, sir, 

F 2 



68 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



we always remark that study dries up the hair. 
I suppose it makes the brain feverish, and that 
this exhausts the nourishment." The observa- 
tion may be worth recording, as every un- 
sophisticated observation deserves notice, al- 
though I much question its being borne out by 
experience ; my own recollection immediately 
furnishing examples of premature grey hairs in 
individuals, who have been any thing but stu- 
dious. And, if true, it would be difficult to 
understand how the effect should be produced 
by such a cause, since the colour of the hair de- 
pends upon its oil — whiteness upon the absence 
of that oil — greyness, of course, upon its partial 
abstraction. 

But again, this cerebral excitement overturns 
the balance of power in the system. Health 
depends upon each organ or function of the 
body being neither in a state of irritation or de- 
pression : and, therefore, if the brain, upon 
which all the others depend, be unduly ex- 
cited, and expend upon itself more than its just 
share of nervous energy, not one only, but all 
the organs and functions are thrown into dis- 
order and confusion ; the equilibrium of animal 
and intellectual life is destroyed, and both give 
way under so cruel an experiment. 

And, lastly, brainular excitement keeps up a 



CHAPTER III. 69 

continued irritation, or permanent febrile action 
in the constitution. It has been truly said, 
that " midnight study retires to feverish rest;'' 
for the brain cannot be goaded to exertion 
without requiring a larger quantity of blood : 
to afford this supply, it calls upon the heart 
and arteries for augmented action ; and this 
action is, in fact, a state of fever, of a remittent 
kind, and produces the natural consequences of 
disease. 

Now, in these effects of simple excitement 
are to be found the causes which operate in 
producing morbid manifestations of mind ; since 
they all re-act upon the brain, and, through it, 
apparently, upon the intellectual principle. 
First, feebleness of the brainular organ arises 
from a lavish expenditure of its energies ; it is 
not recruited by rest, because its supply of 
healthy blood is diminished; the balance o^ 
power being destroyed, it is liable to become 
the slave of any other organ of the body in a 
state of irritation ; and in consequence of the 
febrile action which is produced by the general 
disturbance, not only can it never be at peace, 
but morbid images, resulting from that action, 
are excited. Where this state exists, ideas 
succeed each other without the possibility of 
controlling them ; and the morbid causes which 



to 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



occasion this involuntary, incoherent, and un- 
defined succession, are not to be removed by- 
reasoning, because they result from organic 
agencies which have escaped the presidence of 
the v\^ill, and have usurped that authority which, 
in a well-ordered system, should be maintained 
exclusively by the function of volition. And 
when once this state of disorder has been in- 
troduced, no bounds can be set to the creation 
of unreal and disconnected images ; and a con- 
dition of the brain, and of its mental manifesta- 
tions has been produced, most favourable to the 
creation of supernatural appearances, and to 
the belief in dreams, visions, and omens. 

Another law of this organ, of great import- 
ance in the present discussion, is, that actual 
consciousness may be suspended by any power- 
ful cause acting upon it, even during its waking 
and healthy state ; and much more when en- 
feebled by disease, or any other oppressing 
cause. This is a most important law, because 
it serves so greatly to support the main posi- 
tion I have advanced, — of the production of 
unreal images by the brain, without any con- 
sciousness of the action by which they are 
called into being. Thus, actual and severe 
pain may be suspended by powerful impres- 
sion : as, for instance, a fit of tooth-ache by the 



CHAPTER III. 71 

apprehension of extraction ; a severe paroxysm 
of gout, or acute rheumatism, with their accom- 
panying impossibility of motion, by the vicinity 
of a dangerous fire : the presence of another 
individual, the lapse of time, and the recurrence 
of the usual periodical demands for food on the 
part of the constitution, will be all unperceived 
during the earnest continuance of some ab- 
stracting pursuit ; even the most powerful ap- 
petites and desires will be suspended by mental 
occupation of an interesting character. This 
suspension of consciousness will serve to ac- 
count for many of the far-famed cures of Prince 
Hohenlohe, which, it i=s confessed, were only 
temporary. And when once consciousness is 
suspended, the mind is prepared for receiving, 
as real, many creations of a vivid fancy. 

But if this state of simple excitement be ex- 
changed for that which is positively morbid ; if 
the brain be suffering from the oppression of 
invading disease, (especially if that disease 
should be of a specific character,) v/hich at 
first threatened to overwhelm its power and 
destroy its integrity at once ; or from the con- 
sequences of that re-action, which results from 
an effort of the constitution to restore that 
which has been threatened with destruction ; 
then a variety of morbid states are produced. 



72 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

In the first place, the customary period of re- 
pose ceases to be one of quietude and peace ; 
uneasy slumbers, unrefreshing sleep, and fright- 
ful dreams, haunt the patient ; nightmare, in its 
thousand forms, broods upon his pillow; lassi- 
tude, languor, and weariness, attend his waking 
moments ; head-ache proclaims the distressed 
organ ; the changed expression of the counte- 
nance is characteristic,— that which was lighted 
up by intelligence, now speaks only of distress ; 
that which eloquently told the varied emotions 
of the mind, now proclaims only the anxibus- 
ness of bodily disorder ; and even, oftentimes, 
defines its extent by the greater or less com- 
pleteness with which mental manifestation is 
obliterated : there exists a feebleness, and 
sometimes a perversion, of sensorial, intellec- 
tual, moral, and muscular movements, because 
all these are oppressed by the disturbance of 
the organ of mind ; some of the senses are ex- 
traordinarily obtuse, while others are rendered 
morbidly irritable and acute ; the delightful 
action of thought becomes an oppression, and 
consecutive reasoning is impossible. It is most 
difficult to pursue any thing like connected 
trains of images or impressions ; the influence 
of the passions is now purely mischievous, be- 
cause those of a simply exciting character, in 



CHAPTER in. 73 

any moderate degree, will not be attended to, 
and those which are powerfully stimulant will 
only still further overturn the balance of healthy 
action; while, on the contrary, those of a de- 
pressing tendency, and especially /e^r, will be- 
come predominant. 

But when health returns, the period allotted 
to sleep again becomes one of refreshment, and 
the exhausted power and energy of the day are 
recruited during the night; the attacks of night- 
mare become less frightful in proportion ; 
dreams assume a less painful character, until 
they become remarkable for their ridiculous 
perplexities : the head feels at ease ; a light- 
ness and elasticity of expression again beam 
upon the countenance ; the functions of the 
senses become nicely adjusted, as the safe- 
guards of the system ; the servant of the spiri- 
tual principle regains its appetite for intellectual 
food, and literary pursuit is relished ; the de- 
licacy of moral tact is restored, and muscular 
motion is once more characterised by energy ; 
thought is the merely healthful exercise of the 
mind, and even close and abstruse reasoning is 
but the little additional exertion of the vigorous ; 
like mounting a hill which is to give a com- 
manding view of cultivated scenery, and which 
will repay the difficulty of access, by the varied 



74 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

and interesting associations presented to the view. 
When the Christian contemplates these facts, 
emotions of adoring gratitude should swell his bo- 
som with joy and love to that generous Benefac- 
tor^ by whom his health is daily sustained, and 
he is preserved in the possession of the full use 
of his powers ; and this conviction, with the 
knowledge how easily they might be disturbed, 
should lead him to a renewed dedication of 
every talent to Him, who justly claims the 
whole heart : he should be incited to greater 
diligence ; to work while it is day, lest the 
night of disease and feebleness should obliterate 
his power of usefulness and acquisition; he 
should be humbled with a recollection of the 
cause which first introduced this liability to 
disorder into the bodily and mental functions ; 
and also with the consideration of the most 
splendid intellectual possessions^ since he has 
nothing which he did not receive, nothing but 
which the fever of a day might obliterate for a 
time, and perhaps for ever; and he should be 
filled with benevolence and compassion towards 
those whose mental manifestations are feeble 
or perverted ; while to enlarge mental power in 
general, but chiefly to give it a just direction, 
should be his constant desire. 

But, once more, the brain is an organ of 



CHAPTER 111. 75 

extensive sympathy. This much-abused term is 
often employed as a cloke for complete but 
acknowledged ignorance. It is, however, ac- 
cepted in the present discussion, as meaning 
that the brain stands so closely related to other 
organs of the body, that it possesses the capa- 
city of suffering with them whenever they are 
in a state of irritation ; and also, of reflecting 
upon them its own morbid actions, which they 
in their turn oftentimes assume, and then be- 
come secondary irritants to the brain : and 
further, that it is subjected to irritation of a 
peculiar character, according to the organ which 
forms the originating point of disturbance. 
These positions will be illustrated by attending 
to the mode of sympathetic action of the se- 
veral organs with which it is most distinctly 
associated. 

In all disease the functions of the brain 
oftentimes suffer most deeply, and produce, 
when so suffering, a great, and occasionally a 
most frightful, degree of debility : in fact, it 
seems as if the strength were suspended alto- 
gether, and stolen away, the patient knows not 
how. This is very remarkably the case, when 
it is itself the peculiar seat of suffering: pros- 
tration of muscular power is very generally an 
accompaniment of irritated brain, though not 



76 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

always ; for occasionally the patient will make 
the most incredible efforts under these circum- 
stances. Many of the greatly varied phenomena 
of brainular irritation will depend upon the por- 
tion of brain which is particularly disturbed ; 
for it is well known, that that organ may at all 
events be divided into the brain of animal rela- 
tion^ and that which is sensorial and intel- 
lectual. There are also many finer shades 
of cerebral disturbance, which escape our no- 
tice altogether, and pass off as peculiarity of 
manner, odd habits^ w^him, ill-humour, or eccen- 
tricity. But from what source is this pecu- 
liarity of manner derived ? It is often quite in- 
dependent of, and indeed absolutely opposed 
to^ the intellectual, social, and moral associa- 
tions of the individual ; nay, more, it will give 
the law to education, and characterize the man. 
It cannot be derived from any peculiarity of 
the spiritual essence : for it is absurd to sup-, 
pose, that there are souls of different kinds ; a 
mode of being totally opposed to the harmony 
of the divine Creator, and destructive of moral 
accountability. But the difficulty is easily re- 
moved, by considering it as the character which 
is stamped upon the manifestation of spiritual 
existence, by the material medium through which 
it is rendered cognizable : and thus it is, that 



CHAPTER TIT. 77 

these changes of thought and feeling are often 
ascribable to variations of health, and particular 
aptitude for impression in the recipient organ, 
— variations w^hich escape detection, but which, 
nevertheless, do actually exist, and even form 
a portion of the probationary trial of man's 
earthly existence, — and are a result of that 
primal sin which introduced disease into the 
perfect brain, and consequent disorder of its 
manifestations. 

To illustrate this position by a fact, A. B. was 
a child of the highest possible promise; her ex- 
traordinary intelligence, her docility of temper, 
her amenity of disposition, her easy suasion, and 
hercapacity of impression, v/ere remarkable. She 
became the subject of measles, and to a pecu- 
liar form of brainular irritation, which is often 
consequent upon that malady. In her case, 
this attack was severe, and she recovered with 
difficulty. For a considerable time after that 
recovery was decided, her manifestations of 
mind were scarcely perceptible, and her little 
idiot smile inflicted upon her parents a pang, 
which for awhile made them doubt whether 
that convalescence were a blessing or a still 
heavier trial. Months passed away with a 
gradual return of intellectual agency : but her 
character was entirely changed. She is no 



78 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



longer the creature of intellect, though suffi- 
ciently intelligent ; her temper is become 
violent, obstinate, and often ungovernable ; 
she is timid, morose, and furtive, instead 
of confident, mild, and open : when her 
resolution is formed, it is impossible to move 
her; and her susceptibility to impression and 
capacity for acquisition are contracted. Now 
what has occasioned this change ? Disease, 
most manifestly. And upon what has it ex- 
erted its influence ? upon the brain, which was 
the immediate seat of that disease : or upon the 
spiritual principle, which is incapable of dis- 
ease ? Surely common sense must reply, upon 
the brain. But, if so, it is shown that a change 
of the material medium may for a time oblite- 
rate, and afterwards obscure, alter, and per- 
vert, the manifestations of mind. Hence it 
follows, that similar, but transient morbid states, 
may produce equal though not permanent 
changes and, perversions ; and if so, the basis 
of all our future reasoning is granted. 

Another law of the brain's sympathy is, that 
any organic lesion, however distant, is yet felt 
by it in a very lively manner : this produces 
disturbance of cerebral function ; and then, as 
w^ell as in the case of its own injuries, in con- 
sequence of its extensive relations with the 



CHAPTER III. 79 

animal economy, it reflects general disorder 
upon it, quickens the pulse, hurries the breath- 
ing, palls the appetite, and destroys the diges- 
tion. But more ; it does this, not as a simple 
centre of nervous influence and sympathy, but as 
the organ of mind; for all these phenomena are 
sometimes the effect of fear, grief, or other absorb- 
ing passions. And if the same efl*ect be produced 
by bodily and mental causes upon distant or- 
gans, is it not fair to conclude^ that it is occa- 
sioned through the same medium, unless ano- 
ther and a better mode of communication can 
be demonstrated? The author will illustrate 
this position, by a history of one of the slightest 
and simplest injuries to the brain ; though this 
detail involves a narrative of a small section of 
his own not uneventful life. About twelve 
months since he was thrown from his horse, 
and was taken up in a state of uncon- 
sciousness: the kind attentions of some poor 
persons, who fancied him dead, restored him to 
a certain extent ; so that to their inquiries, whe- 
ther he would walk home, or whether a post- 
chaise should be sent for, he answered automa- 
tically, that '' he would walk." But of all 
this, of the lapse of time, and of walking home 
upon the arm of an attendant, he had no con- 
sciousness or recollection. After his arrival. 



80 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION-. 

excessive sickness was produced, and an ex- 
treme degree of coldness, such as he had never 
before felt, with an imperfect degree of return- 
ing consciousness : and then febrile reaction 
occurred, which was kept within certain bounds ; 
and, finally, the organ was restored. Now in 
this case it is not to be supposed that the .7^/- 
ritual principle suffered: and yet, for the time, its 
action seems to have been suddenly annihi- 
lated; precisely, because, from the injury 
its organ had sustained, it was no longer 
capable of intellectual manifestation. Pre- 
sently animal volition returned ; which is proved 
by the automatic answers, and by w^alking 
home ; but as yet there was no conscious- 
ness. At length comes the reflected disorder 
of the brain upon the stomach, the skin, and 
the general system : fever is produced^ and 
ultimately, the manifestations of mind go on 
as usual. If we will but attend to these com- 
mon circumstances with unprejudiced views, 
we cannot avoid learning the truth. But, in- 
stead of this, we are contented to say, ''This is 
a simple history of a person's being stunned 
by a sudden violent blow." True ! xlnd what 
is this stumiingy but rendering the brain in such 
a physical condition, that it is incapable of the 
manifestations of mind ? And is it too much 



CHAPTER III. 81 

to ask, that if one state of the brain may render 
it unfit for mental operation at all, another 
and a different state may give rise to morbid 
manifestations and unreal images ? 



G 



CHAPTER IV. 



Particular sympathies of the brain : — with the heart — with 
the blood — with the organs of respiration — with the sto- 
mach — with the liver — with the function of secretion 
in general — with the muscular system — with the skin, &c. 
— conclusions. 



To return to the digression with which we con- 
eluded the last chapter, we will now contem- 
plate some of the extensive sympathies of the 
brain ; and first with the heart. 

I. It requires no argument to prove how 
easily palpitation of the heart may be produced, 
by surprise, fear, joy, desire ; and indeed by 
every kind of mental emotion, as well as by a 
variety of hypochondriacal or hysterical affec- 
tions; and, on the contrary, we are conscious 
that this very palpitation disturbs the brain, 
interrupts the processes of thought, agitates 
the feelings, and introduces disorder and con- 
fusion into the mental manifestations. 



CHAPTER IV. 83 

The phenomena of fainting afford another 
instance of this double sympathy. It will often 
arise from mental emotion, producing such an 
effect upon the brain, that the due supply of 
nervous energy, necessary for the continuance 
of the heart's function, is withheld from it : 
then it has not the power to contract, so as to 
send its regular quantity of blood to the brain ; 
and, wanting this, a suspension of its action 
occurs, and absolute fainting is the consequence. 
The spirit is not affected, but its manifestation 
is suspended ; and how is it to be restored ? 
Not, surely, by reading lectures to that spi- 
ritual principle, on the necessity and import- 
ance of retaining or recovering its conscious- 
ness ; but by the common physical processes of 
placing the patient in a horizontal position, so 
as to favour the return of blood to the head ; 
and by stimulating the brain by the sudden 
application of cold water sprinkled upon the 
face ; by excitants applied to the different organs 
of sense, and by other similar operations. In 
suspended animation from another cause, all 
mental agency is gone, and the patient appears 
to be dead ; yet by observing certain physical 
rules, vital action is restored ; and, after a time, 
the brainular functions are performed as before. 
Besides, it-is a well-established fact, that dis- 

G 2 



84 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

ease of the heart is the frequent consequence 
of grief, and of other violent contentions of spi- 
rit. A proof of this is to be found in the 
greatly-increased frequency of affections of this 
organ in France since the era of the Revolution. 
And what is all this, says an objector, but a 
simple instance of fainting, or, if you must have 
it so, of the extensive influence of the mind ? 
But it is more : for it is a proof of the depend- 
ance of that mind, for the correctness and per- 
fection of its manifestations, upon the integrity 
of the organ allotted by the Creator to its 
functions. 

n. Another class of sympathies of the cere- 
bral organ is v^ith the blood. 

It has been just shown that the brain cannot 
continue its function without an adequate sup- 
ply of blood. This probably acts in two ways : 
first, by the impression of its circulation ; and 
secondly, by the vital principles which it con- 
tains. Chemists may analyze this fluid, and 
may tell us what are its constituent elements : 
but they cannot produce from it bone, muscle, 
nerve, and the various organs and functions to 
which it gives rise. This can be accomplished 
only by a vital action, termed secretion ; which 
cannot be perfected without the intervention of 
the brain. Now one purpose of the blood dis- 



CHAPTER IV. 85 

tributed to the cerebral organ is, to give it nou- 
rishment. But it receives a much greater quan- 
tity than can be required for this purpose, even 
after making a large allowance for its very high 
degree of vitality; and, indeed, this would 
again bring us round to the same point, since 
why is it endowed with a higher degree of vita- 
lity than other viscera ? If, then, it do actually 
receive a much larger quantity of blood, than 
can be necessary for its nutrition ; if this 
quantity be increased during the excitement of 
deep thought, close reading, or agitating emo- 
tion ; and if its temporary absence, or rapid 
diminution, do occasion the complete abolition 
of sense, and intellectual and affective opera- 
tions, — what can we conclude, but that the brain 
is necessary — not indeed to the essence of the 
immortal spirit — but to its corporeal manifes- 
tations ? 

Again : the blood received by the brain must 
be pure; it must have undergone its regular 
changes in passing through the lungs ; other- 
wise it will prove destructive to its physiologi- 
cal action, or will occasion disordered manifes- 
tations. Now, if the mere absence of the vital 
principles which it should contain^ is thus inju- 
rious to the integrity and perfection of the cere- 
bral function, much more will that function be 



86 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

injured, or even annihilated, if it be loaded 
with any deleterious substance or quality. 

But again : the brain must obtain no more 
than its due proportion of this necessary fluid. 
For if it receive an excessive quantity, it will 
experience as material a disturbance to the 
energy of its functions, as in the instance of a 
defective supply ; only the mode of producing 
this effect will be different. And even this 
very difference of manner, leading to the same 
ultimate result, is instructive; showing how 
greatly the brain, and the manifestations of 
mind, are subjected to the agency of the same 
physical causes. For in the former state, there 
will supervene giddiness, head-ache, a sense of 
uneasy distension, drowsiness, heavy sleep, loss 
of energy, feebleness of the will, lethargy; 
and if this morbid influence be not relieved, all 
the miserable symptoms of apoplexy, and a 
complete or partial abolition of sense and rea- 
son, together with the entire subversion of the 
integrity of intellectual manifestation : and in 
the latter, a variety of uneasy sensations, all 
indicating the feebleness of the brainular func- 
tions, and their partial or total temporary cessa- 
tion, according as the abstraction of blood may 
have been more or less considerable. Further : 
the subsequent effect of any great loss of blood 



CHAPTER IV. 87 

is, that the convalescence of the patient is ex- 
ceedingly slow : it is a long time before the 
brain can be commanded by the will, and be- 
fore it can sustain much intellectual exertion; 
hence the subject of such a state will remain 
feeble, peevish, irritable, and oftentimes essen- 
tially altered in his character. Not, indeed, 
that ideas are elaborated from the blood, or that 
the function of the brain can be compared to 
any process of ordinary secretion : nor that this 
fluid can impress upon the organ any facility of 
peculiar moral or intellectual manifestation. 
The Almighty Fountain of wisdom has provid- 
ed for these purposes a viscus, to which he 
has given the necessary wonderful structure, 
although we do not pretend to explain or com- 
prehend the mode of its function ; and this 
structure receives from the blood its peculiar 
pabulum ; so that its actions may be increased, 
diminished, or modified ; and, finally, so that, 
under certain circumstances, the manifestations 
of mind may be perverted, or abolished — pro- 
ducing, in the former instance, the various forms 
of mental alienation and fatuity ; and, in the 
latter, fainting, and the several varieties of 
nervous afi"ection, convulsions, apoplexy, and 
even death. Surely, then, it may be allowed, 
that an organ thus intimately dependent upon 



88 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the blood for the integrity of its function, may, 
under the influence of certain morbid states of 
that fluid, exhibit many erroneous manifesta- 
tions of mind. 

III. Another sympathy of the brain is with 
the organs of respiration. 

This intercommunion of suff'ering is main- 
tained through the medium of nerves, which go 
to supply the muscles concerned in respiration, 
and of those which are received by the lungs 
themselves. If these nerves be divided^ or so 
pressed upon as to intercept their communica- 
tion with the brain^ death, the stoppage of every 
intellectual and spiritual function, so far as de- 
veloped through the material organs of the 
body, is the immediate consequence. But if 
this entire severence be attended with an in- 
stantly fatal result, the disruption of the union 
between body and mind, is it not a probable 
inference, that a minor degree of violence, con- 
sisting in simple irritation of these nerves, must 
also disturb the source whence they are derived? 
Now every uneasiness, excess, or defect, — that 
is, every disordered action, is constituted an 
irritant to the organ so subjected to morbid in- 
fluence. And, since the forms of disease of the 
chest are various, is it otherwise than a legiti- 
mate inference, that the brain maybe variously 



CHAPTER IV. 89 

irritated according to these peculiarities of dis- 
ordered action? But if so, we may have several 
varieties of cerebral irritation arising from the dis- 
turbance of only one organ. Moreover, it is im- 
possible to suppose that the brain can be irri- 
tated v^ithout suffering deeply in its intellec- 
tual functions. And if these premises be grant- 
ed, it is impossible to deny or evade the con- 
clusion, that these several forms of irritation may 
produce a coincident number of morbid cerebral 
manifestations. 

A little further consideration will show how 
very intimately the lungs are associated with 
the brainular function ; and, if this be proved, 
the refle.v action of the same influence cannot 
be denied. Let us only attend to some common 
circumstances of life, and quietly listen to their 
voice ; let us look to the agency of emotion in 
quickening respiration ; let us watch the tumul- 
tuous heavings of the bosom from the effect of 
simply listening to that which deeply interests 
the feelings ; let us remember its convulsive 
agitations in the act of laughter from joy ; let 
us listen to the automatic sigh of merely ani- 
mal oppression, and contrast it with the deep 
expressive symbol of real grief as it bursts from 
the breaking heart of the mourner ; let us ap- 
preciate the intense and involuntary earnest- 



90 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

ness with which we listen in breathless expec- 
tation, particularly under circumstances of fear ; 
let us attend to the unwonted sob of mental 
agony, or of violent bodily suffering ; and let 
us watch the agitation produced by some forms 
of hysterical disease ; — and then must we con- 
fess how closely and essentially the brain and 
the respiratory organs are linked together, and 
how interchangeably each must suffer from the 
irritation of the other. Besides, as has been 
already shown, the brain requires a pure blood 
to ensure the continuance of its healthy func- 
tions ; and, in order to this, there must be a 
sound state of the lungs, and a pure atmosphere 
easily and freely inhaled ; conditions of indis- 
pensable importance that the blood may not be 
imperfectly oxygenated ; and that the brain may 
not suffer in consequence of that fluid^s being 
deprived of its highest vital qualities. There- 
fore, if the brain and its manifestations of mind 
be impaired by receiving a blood unsuitable for 
its purposes, how much more will it be perverted 
by the action of that fluid when impregnated 
with absolutely noxious particles ! 

IV. Sympathy of the brain with the stomach 
and alimentary canal, 

I must next notice the connexion, and listen 
to the sympathies, existing between the brain 



CHAPTER IV. 91 

and the stomach, together with the alimentary 
canal ; and we shall here also find how com- 
pletely the latter are dependent upon the former, 
and observe the consequent influence exerted 
by any morbid cause of irritation existing within 
either. — In the first place, the stomach receives 
from the brain certain nerves, the integrity of 
which is indispensable to the performance of its 
function of digestion or alimentation. Destroy 
this communication, and the action of assimila- 
tion ceases : this at least proves the close con- 
nexion between the two organs, and will afford 
room for suspecting that any morbid change in 
a function, so entirely dependent upon the brain, 
must reflect its irritating influence upon the 
source from which all power of healthy action 
is derived. But further : the influence of pro- 
longed study in diminishing the digestive 
power, and the gradual wasting of the flesh, and 
general exhaustion, which follow from a severe 
course of reading; the suspension of appetite, 
and the indigestion after eating, which arise 
from any sudden and considerable mental emo- 
tion : the destruction of the tone of the stomach, 
the chronic irritation, and even ulceration of its 
coats, from the slow and insidious but certain 
eff'ects of grief and disappointment, when suf- 



92 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

fered to prey upon the mind, without seeking 
for the consolations of religion : the nausea and 
disgust which^ in some individuals, are pro- 
duced by the sight or smell of certain articles, 
which have formerly proved injurious to them, 
and which declare these senses to be appointed 
as faithful sentinels to the system, and to enable 
us at the same time to trace the limits of asso- 
ciation between function and function : the ab- 
solute sickness which will sometimes result 
from the preceding state, and particularly 
from the idea of swallowing that from which we 
have a decided aversion ; a similar effect some 
times produced from mere nervousness, that is, 
from mental emotion : the participation of the 
stomach in almost all the maladies with which 
the brain is directly or indirectly affected, and 
the expression of its uneasiness being some- 
times the 072I1/ symptom which would lead to a 
suspicion of irritation of the brain : the fre- 
quently severe disturbance of the stomach, 
called ** sick head-ache," and which originates 
primarily from an affection of the brain ; or from 
concussion or compression of that organ, or on 
recovery from fainting ; — all show how com- 
pletely the former is under the influence of the 
latter, and betray the intemate sympathy be- 



CHAPTER IV. 93 

tween the two functions ; which is still farther 
ficonrmed by the cerebral uneasiness and dis- 
order in diseases of the stomach. 

We may elucidate this state of morbid sym- 
pathy, by contemplating the rationale of some 
of its healthy functions. Hunger and thirst, 
for instance, and the desire of satisfying appe- 
tite, although frequently referred to the sto- 
machy do not exist there ; but are the results, 
when unsophisticated, of the wants of the sys- 
tem impressed upon the nerves of the stomach 
and referred to the brain, in order that volition 
may be excited to satisfy those wants, and to 
preserve that system. When the desire has 
been satisfied by taking food, a feeling of com- 
fort will be diffused over all the animal machine, 
if the stomach has been moderately supplied ; 
accompanied, however, with a degree of lan- 
guor and indisposition for intellectual exertion, 
and the desire of quiet, in order that the cere- 
bral system may be fully occupied with the 
important process of digestion, without the pe- 
culiar aid of which the powers of the stomach 
would ultimately fail. In many persons of 
weakly digestion, a disposition to drowsiness 
occurs ; and the other functions of the system 
are not in activity, in order that all the nervous 



94 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

influence that can be spared may be concen- 
trated upon the stomach. 

Where the meal has been moderate, all this 
passes without notice ; but if the stomach 
shall have received more than it can conve- 
niently digest, the attention of the nervous sys- 
tem is directed towards it, and the patient feels 
oppressed. And if this oppression be frequently 
repeated — perhaps every day, and several times 
in the day — permanent feebleness of intellect 
will be the result ; because the energies of the 
brain are accumulated upon the animal system, 
and cannot be afforded for its intellectual func- 
tions. Hence it is that, by experience, persons 
engaged in literary pursuits, in extending the 
field of their own intelligence, or in communi- 
cating knowledge to others, know and feel that 
a full diet is incompatible with intellectual 
activity. Moreover, many extraordinary affec- 
tions of the brain occur during difficult diges- 
tion ; nay, spectral illusions, and often nervous 
symptoms, which show that that viscus is ir- 
ritated ; and that when irritated there is no 
placing bounds to its actions. 

We must here also notice the effects produced 
upon this organ by various substances ; and par- 
ticularly by alcoholic fluids, tea^ and coffee. 



CHAPTER IV. 95 

As a very slight stimulant the former is some- 
times recommended, even by medical advisers ; 
but when the quantity is considerable, the sto- 
mach suffers sooner or later ; and, where a 
habit of drunkenness is continued, generally 
suffers irrecoverably. But it is with the effect 
upon the brain, and its manifestations of the 
mind, that we have chiefly to remark. In 
moderate doses, alcoholic fluids excite that 
organ gently, and stimulate the emiployment of 
its functions ; a degree of hilarity is observable ; 
a rapid flow of ideas ; increased acumen in dis- 
putation ; lively sallies of wit ; and generally 
augmented powers ; but when the quantity 
taken has been larger, reason is suspended — it 
is absolutely drowned : in some instances, per- 
fect insanity is produced ; in all, the senses 
become obtuse. The muscles refuse obedience 
to the will ; the patient is unable to walk with- 
out staggering, or to speak without stammering; 
and, in a more advanced stage of inebriety, the 
power of the brain is apparently lost ; a deep, 
heavy, apoplectic slumber comes over the pa- 
tient, from which, after a certain interval, he 
awakens, stupid, enfeebled, with head-ache, 
languor, debilitated moral and intellectual ma- 
nifestations, depression of spirits, and the con- 
sequent anxiety for a renewed dose of this 



96 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

deadly stimulus. Disease, and perhaps sud- 
denly fatal disease, frequently results from 
drunkenness ; and where this may not be the 
immediate consequence, the continuance of the 
habit gradually terminates in an enfeebled 
brain ; the individual is reduced below the level 
of the brute animal creation, and his besotted 
intellect is more and more clouded, till he be- 
comes childish, fatuous, palsied, and lives out 
only half his days. There is, therefore, great 
danger in the habitual use of even slight alco- 
holic stimulants ; for by custom a larger dose 
becomes necessary, as the excitability of the 
organs is lessened ; till at length, what was 
taken perhaps at first with caution, and it may 
be with a view to health, becomes deeply in- 
jurious both to the mind and body, and leads 
on the unconscious victim to the miserable state 
I have described. The highly alcoholized 
wines used in this country, are a slow poison 
to thousands of persons who, from long habit, 
cannot feel wound up without them, and are 
not even aware that they are every day unduly 
stimulating the system, and bringing on prema- 
ture decay, imbecility, and old age. 

Tea and coffee, on the contrary, excite the 
brain without producing these deleterious ef- 
fects, or at all endangering the manifestations 



CHAPTER IV 



97 



of mind ; they cheer, but do not inebriate. 
They appear to communicate a great facility 
in forming, arranging, and communicating ideas : 
thought becomes rapid, acute, and of a supe- 
rior order ; composition, conversation, every ef- 
fort of mind, becomes easier, more valuable, 
more perfect ; and inappreciable energy is com- 
municated to the mental operations. It must 
be allowed, however, that their habitual em- 
ployment renders them necessary in order to 
secure a certain brainular stimulation, ^vithout 
which the energy of the organ is below its 
average power ; but this only proves still far- 
ther the dependence of mind upon matter for its 
manifestations, and that too upon the condition 
of a distinct organ. It must also be recollected, 
that persons possessed of a highly nervous, sus- 
ceptible, irritable temperament, cannot take 
these substances with impunity, much less with 
advantage; for the equilibrium of an already 
too highly irritable organ is disturbed, and 
wakefulness, with many a symptom of uneasy 
nervous disorder, is produced. 

I must not entirely pass over the action of 
opium ; the more especially as we shall have 
occasion to refer to it hereafter. It is well 
known, that this medicine is distributed to the 
Turkish troops, on the eve of an expected battle. 



98 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

in order to produce in them that exaltation of 
animal power, and that fanatical ardour and 
courage, for which they are remarkable. When 
taken under ordinary circumstances, and in 
precisely the right dose, it will occasion agree- 
able sensations, enchanting reveries, and plea- 
sures which are indescribable. It is well 
known that this remedy has been often abused 
for the purpose of creating supernatural appear- 
ances, visions, and other illusions, which have 
been ascribed to the agency of heavenly spirits. 
This subject might be extensively pursued ; 
but, probably, enough has been brought for- 
ward to show the dependence of cerebral phe- 
nomena on the state of the brain ; and to prove 
how much its manifestations may be disturbed 
by any irritation of the stomach— an organ pe- 
culiarly liable to this morbid state, from the 
variety of its own diseases, its extensive con- 
nexions, and its mischievous dietetic manage- 
ment. 

V. Sympathy of the brain with the liver, 
I shall here only just notice the influence of 
moral causes upon the functions of this organ, 
so that an excessive flow of bile does often re- 
sult from the mere agitation of suspense or sur- 
prise ', while the more powerful passions, such 
as anger, fear, terror, excessive joy, have 



CHAPTER IV. 99 

actually produced a fit of jaundice. Then 
again its reflected influence is very consider- 
able ; head-ache, and a countless variety of 
morbid mental manifestations, have frequently 
followed congestion of its vessels ; and their 
removal has been coincident with its returning 
health : while, on the other hand, concussion of 
the brain has often given rise to inflammation, 
and even abscess of the liver. The well-ascer- 
tained influence of diseases of this organ in 
producing hypochondriasis, melancholy, and 
many other forms of vaporous irritation, is also 
proverbial, and tends to confirm our position, 
that its functional disturbance occasions a 
sympathetic disorder of the intellectual organ 
— not of the mind, but of the material medium 
through which it acts — possessing a specific 
character analogous with that v\'hich constitutes 
the primary irritation. In what this character 
consists we know not ; nor is it necessary that 
we should know, since we seek not to define 
the nature of this influence, but merely to indi- 
cate its extent. 

VI. Sympathies of the brain v/ith the func- 
tion of secretion in general. 

We must pass over the influence of the kid- 
neys, the spleen, and several other organs of 
the body: but as these are for the most part 

H 2 



100 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

secreting organs, we shall just notice the 
agency of the brain in producing secretion at 
all, and its reflex operation upon that viscus. 
This function very much depends upon the 
brain, and can be continued only so long as a 
due correspondence is kept up with that organ. 
But there are some secretions which conspi- 
cuously exhibit this law ; that, for instance, of 
saliva under the influence of the excited imagi- 
nation of food : on the opposite side, disgust for 
certain articles of diet will arrest the secretion, 
and produce dryness of the mouth. Again : 
the secretion of tears may be produced by two 
very opposite mental states — either of great 
sorrow or joy ; and in both cases their flow 
seems to aflbrd relief to an oppressed bi^ain — 
the sufl^ering organ of the mind. This is a 
matter of common observation, though its 
cause is not contemplated. Every one has 
experienced the temporary relief afforded by 
this secretion to a bursting heart ; and there are 
few who have not rejoiced when they have wit- 
nessed tears come to the relief of an agonized 
bosom ; for they know that a sorrow which can 
find an outlet in these natural expressions of 
grief, is less injurious than that deeply-concen- 
trated feeling, which has no way of utterance, 
and in which the individual remains as isolated 



CHAPTER IV. 101 

from himself and others, and frequently falls a 
victim to cerebral disorder. This influence is 
also indirectly exerted upon the chest, so that 
the phrase of being *' stifled with grief," is often 
used to depict a state in which the oppressed 
bosom can scarcely free itself from its load, and 
is accompanied by a sense of stricture and tight- 
ness very commonly known ; and which, in the 
nature of things, must depend upon cerebral in- 
fluence. Parents are accustomed to act upon 
this principle, without knowing why, and with- 
out reasoning upon it : as, for instance, in the 
choice of a wet-nurse for their infant, they 
would look for one endued with a good share of 
equanimity, whose system was not liable to the 
agitation of tumultuous passion, and to moral 
afl'ections of a debasing character ; because 
the influence of these mental states upon the 
secretion of milk is known to be deleterious, 
and to render it improper for the nourishment 
of the infant ; even if it do not still farther 
exert an unfortunate eff'ect upon the infantile 
brain, and on the consequent manifestations of 
mind. 

VII. Sympathies of the brain with the mus- 
cular system. 

The influence of the brain on the muscles is 
conspicuous in several forms of malady, as well 



102 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

as in their more simple healthy actions. They 
may be considered as agents to the brain, and 
absolutely incapable of their action without its 
continued energy imparted to them. A proof 
of this may be found in that state of a limb 
which is termed being *' asleep.'' By pressure 
on the nerves, the communication with the 
brain has been intercepted ; and the individual 
wills in vain to move the limb : motion is impos- 
sible till the return of nervous influence, marked 
by the common sensation of " pins and needles," 
has restored the communication with the brain, 
and the muscles become again obedient to the 
will. Although from long habit these organs 
may appear to act without a distinct effort of 
volition, yet it is manifest that this really hap- 
pens from the so-frequent repetition of cerebral 
actions, that the precise operation is performed 
without exciting the attention. If further proofs 
were needed of this position, they might be 
found in the enfeebled muscular power of old 
age, precisely accompanying enfeebled brainu- 
lar energy ; in the complete loss of voluntary 
action attendant upon palsy ; in the partial ab- 
sence of the influence of volition over one set of 
muscles, (as, for instance, thej^^jror^, or exten- 
sors of a limb,) while it remains active upon the 
other; in the debilitated muscular actions 



CHAPTER IV. 



103 



arising from any source of irritation oppressing 
the brain, but particularly as a consequence of 
invading disease ; in the convulsions and other 
disordered muscular movements which attend 
many forms of cerebral disorder ; in the inti- 
mate sympathy which is known to exist be- 
tween the different parts of the muscular sys- 
tem ; and in the ease with which many remote 
muscles are called into action, for the purpose 
of aiding, or of counteracting the influence of 
other muscles, in the performance of their 
salutary, or in controlling their morbid^ actions ; 
and, above all, in the muscles of expression, 
those fruitful exponents of the varied emotions 
of mind. This is also demonstrated by the act 
of yawning, which is either a purely cerebral 
phenomenon, or indirectly such, through the 
agency of disordered stomach, or other suffering 
organ, irritating the brain. A similar disturb- 
ance of muscular power is visible in some dis- 
eases of the brain, as in epileptic and hysterical 
affections ; for it will be found, that in all these 
states, however they may be complicated with 
disorder of other important organs, yet that a 
morbid condition of the brain is the first link in 
the chain of unhealthy action. 

Again : the development of great muscular 
power can scarcely consist with the perfect 



104 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

integrity and energy of moral and intellectual 
manifestation. Only appreciate the influence 
of fatigue from lengthened muscular exertion, 
and it will be seen that the brain is unfitted for 
intellectual action : it is also impossible to 
think deeply during long-continued or rapid 
walking; and after great exertion repose is 
necessary, even for some days, before the brain 
can resume its accustomed power. Thus again, 
with regard to those who have devoted them- 
selves to athletic pursuits, it will be remarked, 
that their weight of intellect and aptitude for 
moral feeling are very small ; and that their 
life is passed between eatings sleeping, and 
training. Only individuals of contracted intel- 
ligence will submit to sacrifice mental energy 
to the development of muscular power ; or will 
give up the hope of moral and intellectual ex- 
cellence, in exchange for that which, at the 
very best^ they can but enjoy in common with 
many of the inferior animals — namely, a supe- 
riority of physical power over the comparatively 
feeble and helpless. The man who thinks 
correctly — who really enjoys and desires the 
exquisite happiness which may be derived from 
the exercise of the nobler faculties of the imma- 
terial spirit, and whose conscience tells him 
the importance of cultivating these faculties. 



CHAPTER IV. 105 

and the moral responsibility attaching to their 
possession, — can never hesitate, for a moment, 
respecting the duty and satisfaction of culti- 
vating talent, and devoting it to the love and 
service of Him who gave it. The two, in a 
very high degree^ are incompatible ; because, if 
the animal brain receive an undue proportion of 
development, the intellectual manifestation 
will be starved and dwindled, after the same 
ratio ; thus proving the great importance of the 
organ, and its dependence for integrity upon 
other distant sympathies. 

Vin. Sympathies of the brain W\ih.the skin. 

I shall close this part of the inquiry with a 
remark or two on cerebral sympathy, as con- 
nected with the skin. At first sight, this may 
not appear a tangible or likely association ; and 
some who peruse these pages may imagine that 
greater importance than it deserves is given to 
the cerebral organ. And, indeed, there is often 
an obscurity enveloping these connexions, which 
makes it difficult to trace the exact mode of as- 
sociation. Yet the influence of moral emotion 
in producing that state of the surface which is 
familiarly called goose-skin; the agency of fear 
in occasioning paleness of the countenance, by 
recalling the blood to the interior, or blueness 



106 ESSAY ON SUPERSTJTION. 

of the lips, from congestion in the extreme ves- 
sels ; the effect of shame and surprise, in giv- 
ing rise to the blush which tinges the cheek of 
an innocent person, as well as deeply flushes 
the countenance of the consciously guilty ; the 
agency of suspense and agitation in occasioning 
perspiration; the dryness of the skin which is so 
common an attendant upon mental anxiety; the 
change of countenance from the impulsion of 
spiritual agony ; the alteration of its colour in 
those who really mourn, and the wrinkle of dis- 
satisfaction which broods upon the forehead ; — 
are all proofs of intimate dependence between 
the two structures, and confirm the position 
that through these several organs the brain 
may be variously irritated, so as to produce a 
difference in the specific expression of its suf- 
ferings. This, too, is elucidated by the fact, 
that the brain suffers very differently from 
affections of different organs, according to pe- 
culiarities which we cannot trace, but which 
do actually exist. 

There are some other very remarkable sym- 
pathies, but which are not so well suited to po- 
pular perusal ; and I therefore pass them over, 
in order, in the next chapter, to offer a few re- 
marks on disorders of the cerebral function. In 



CHAPTER IV. 107 

the mean time, the following important results 
may be drawn from the present section of our 
inquiry. 

1. The brain is placed in a state of sympathe- 
tic communion with many organs of the body : 
it rejoices in their health, and it suffers in their 
diseases ; and, moreover, it forms the link of 
communication between all these several organs^ 
which unites them into one perfect whole ; so 
that if the action of any one be arrested, the 
whole are thrown into confusion. 

2. The brain is exceedingly liable to be irri- 
tated by disturbance excited in anyone of these 
distant organs. No disease of any kind can 
exist anywhere in the system, — no uneasiness, 
excess, or defect, in any one organ or function, 
but the brain suffers from it. And since it has 
been shown that the brain is the organ or in- 
strument through which the manifestations of 
the mind are rendered cognisable, it is clear 
that these manifestations will be excited, alter- 
ed, or impaired, by the state of the cerebral 
organ, which is the consequence of such irrita- 
tion. 

3. The peculiar character of such disturbance 
will be determined by the particular organ 
which forms the source of irritation ; and by 
the kind and degree of morbid action to which 



108 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

it is exposed. It has been shown how closely 
the several organs of the body are united in 
sympathy to one common centre ; and how 
variously they affect that centre, according to 
their own peculiarities. But it will very seldom 
be found that this agency will be excited in a 
manner pure and uncombined ; for not only is 
each individual organ itself the seat of many 
healthy and morbid sympathies, but it is essen- 
tially connected with all the other organs of the 
body ; and its actions are variously modified by 
this connexion. Still, by this local primary 
disturbance, the effect propagated to the brain, 
and the subsequent reflex action of that viscus, 
are characterized, and do variously influence 
the manifestations of mind. 

4. These facts should lead us to exercise ten- 
der compassion, in reference to those diseased 
manifestations of mind which so frequently 
cross our path. Let us recollect, that, though 
man is not a merely animal machine, the ex- 
pression of his thoughts, feelings, reasoning, 
affections, and passions, is really influenced by 
the state of his body, and by any morbid action 
which may affect it. Let us hope, that many 
lesser peculiarities of conduct may depend 
upon the irritation of the organ of mind ; and 
though bodily temperament is not to be pleaded 



CHAPTER IV. 109 

as an excuse for moral obliquity, which a high 
exertion of Christian principle would have 
overcome^ still let us learn to compassionate 
such sufferers as those I have described. Let 
the arm of mercy and forgiveness be outstretch- 
ed towards them ; and let the active energy of 
real pity be willingly exercised to succour 
those whom we would consider as the wretched 
victims of disease, rather than as the voluntary 
agents of their own wanderings. Some of my 
readers can, perhaps, recollect having been 
vexed or irritated by persons, who at that time 
were considered of sane mind, but were after- 
wards obliged to be placed under restraint as 
lunatics; and have said, '' I can now account 
for, and of course forgive and pity;, many things 
which offended me in my friend's conduct : it 
was, in fact, incipient derangement." Xow my 
object is to show that there is much of this in- 
cipient derangement in the world ; which, 
though it may never go beyond this earliest 
stage, is, in its degree, derangement still, and 
ought to be pitied and borne with as such. Of 
the extent of moral guilt in the individual I 
am not now speaking: this will depend upon the 
degree in which reason and conscience still re- 
tain their influence, the existing power of the 



110 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

function of volition, and the eifort made by the 
mind, according to its moral consciousness, to 
struggle with temptation. I merely add this 
remark, that I may not seem to any cursory 
reader to be offering an apology for moral pra- 
vity. 

5. My last observation naturally leads to ano- 
ther ; namely, that while we pity the infirmity 
of our neighbour;, our scrutiny of ourselves 
ought to be rigid ; for we should exercise a con- 
stant and uncompromising hostility to the in- 
fluence of these sources of irritation. We must 
learn to excuse others, but we must not excuse 
ourselves : because we ought to resist every 
tendency to irritation ; to watch over the first 
symptom of morbid manifestation ; to seek sup- 
port and guidance from on high ; and in the 
strength of the Lord our God to come off more 
than conquerors. If the organ of mind be lia- 
ble to irritation from a great number of bodily 
sources, God has also graciously given us a prin- 
ciple by which we are called upon to contend 
with these morbid tendencies ; and it is our 
duty to strive against and overcome them. 

6. But if this varied irritation should be so 
intense^ or continue so long, as that the inte- 
grity of the brain should be destroyed, it will 



CHAPTER IV. Ill 

then escape from the control of the presiding 
mind, and will continue to act without guidance 
and direction, producing the morbid manifesta- 
tions of cerebral disorder, the next point to be 
noticed. 



CHAPTER V. 

Phenomena of disordered brainular function, and its influ- 
ence on the manifestations of mind.— Sensorial feebleness 
or perversion ; — -great susceptibility ; — hallucination ; — un- 
conquerable wakefulness ; — change of intellectual and 
moral manifestations. 

The next step of our investigation is to consi- 
der the phenomena of disordered brainular func- 
tion. 

A great error has arisen^ and has been perpe- 
tuated even to the present day, in considering 
cerebral disorder as mental; requiring, and in- 
deed admitting, onli/ of moral remedies, instead 
of these forming only one class of curative 
agents ; whereas the brain is the mere organ of 
mind, not the mind itself; and its disorder of 
function arises from its ceasing to be a proper 
medium for the manifestation of the varied ac- 
tion and passion of the presiding spirit. And, 



CHAPTER V. 113 

strange as it may seem, this error has been con- 
secrated by a desire to escape from the fallacies 
of materialism. 

Yet it is manifest that they alone are guilty 
of the charge of attachment to materialism, who 
consider the disorders of the cerebral function 
as mental ; for then, indeed, the brain must be 
mind itself, and not simply its organ. When the 
stomach, or the liver, or the lungs, are affected 
with disease, some term is employed which at 
once leads the attention to the suffering viscus, 
and to the mode of its sufferings. But when 
we speak of disorder of the cerebral function, 
persons currently employ the terms mental alie- 
nation, fatuity, and various others which de- 
scribe the symptoms of cerebral disease ; but 
which do not lead the mind on to the affection 
of the organ which occasions them. This cause 
is generally very little understood, and often 
mistaken. But we must recollect, that the spi- 
ritual principle is not susceptible of disease — 
except speaking metaphorically ; and therefore, 
we must refer the symptoms of morbid mental 
manifestation to their organic cause. 

And if these mental manifestations alw^ays 
become disordered in a morbid condition of the 
brain, it is not too much to ask that other ana- 
logous phenomena should be referred to this 



114 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

cause, which have sometimes been ascribed to 
spiritual agency, because the altered manifesta- 
tions have not been contemplated as a conse- 
quence of disease of the manifesting organ : 
and, if this be granted, it v^iil not be too much 
to ask further, that those morbid manifestations 
of mind, which can be traced to disease of the 
material organ, should be permitted to guide us 
into the same route of explanation as respects 
other deviations from healthy mental agency, 
v^^hich may not so clearly be associated with 
disease of structure. 

Cerebral disorder is characterized by cer- 
tain symptoms, which, in prosecuting this in- 
quiry, it is important to consider. We will first 
take an example of the simplest form of dis- 
turbance ; namely, slight tendency to conges- 
tion in the vessels of the brain. The patient 
wakens with difficulty ; he is desirous of sleep- 
ing beyond his usual time ; he dresses with an 
oppression upon his brow, which constitutes 
that operation a burden ; he remains languid 
and feeble all the morning ; there is a sense of 
weight in his head, which he cannot shake off; 
he is still drowsy and indisposed for exertion : 
the hour of dinner arrives— and the stimulus 
occasioned by this meal drives the blood through 
the congested vessels ; re-action is produced; 



CHAPTER V. 115 

the sense of weight is lost, and it is superseded 
by head-ache of a more or less acute character ; 
by restlessness, and a variety of fidgetty sensa- 
tions ; and if the pain should subside (as it 
very commonly does) towards evening, and fre- 
quently Hnder the controlling influence of green 
tea^ still there is a great degree of irritability, 
and the patient retires to rest in a state of mor- 
bid wakefulness, which is not overcome for 
hours ; and he then falls into the same heavy, 
unrefreshing sleep, which occasions a repetition 
of similar congestion ; to be again removed by 
the same re-action, and to return in a similar cir- 
cle till the morbid condition has been relieved. 
But what is the effect of this state upon the 
manifestations of mind ? All the morning the 
subject of brainular alteration is incapable of 
intellectual exertion ; his spirits are depressed, 
and his powers of thought inadequate. To this 
mental cloud succeeds a transient brightening 
of the faculties, which is suspended by acute 
pain, and is afterwards characterized by an 
impossibility of fixing the attention, until to- 
wards evening, when a greater degree of se- 
renity is produced, and the patient probably 
conduces to his approaching wakefulness by 
mental occupation ; which now, no longer a 

I 2 



116 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

burden, goes on cheerily. Now unless we are 
wilfully blind, do we not see that the mani- 
festations of mind are under the influence of 
this peculiar though most simple cerebral dis- 
order ? and, if so, may there not be other mor- 
bid conditions of the brain, perhaps unknown 
or unexplained, and, with our present know- 
ledge, inexplicable, which may give rise to 
varied deviations from healthy mental mani- 
festation, to visions, spectral illusions, halluci- 
nations, apparitions, and similar phenomena? 

The infinite wisdom of the Creator has so 
appointed, that the brain can bear much injury 
with impunity. And it is astonishing to con- 
template the degree of mischief which will 
sometimes go on in its structure without being 
rendered very obvious by bodily or mental 
symptoms. By what constitution of the organ 
this has been effected is beyond our know- 
ledge, and we seek not to explain it : but we 
see the fact ; and we would derive from it a 
lesson of adoring gratitude to that holy Being, 
whose infinite knowledge has prepared for the 
operations of mind an organ of such exquisite 
delicacy and susceptibility; and yet one which 
can bear with comparative impunity a greater 
degree of lesion than many other less important 



CHAPTER V. 117 

viscera. But although this is sometimes the 
case, yet cerebral disorder is generally marked 
by some of the following appearances. 

1. Feebleness, or suspension, or perversion 
of the intimations afforded by the organs of 
sense. 

Mere mental emotion will occasion the tongue 
to be furred in a few minutes ; vision will be 
rendered indistinct, and the hearing obtuse ; 
an emotion of a more powerful kind will sus- 
pend the action of the senses altogether : while, 
under other circumstances, it will so completely 
pervert them, as that the taste shall be de- 
praved ; the ear shall be assailed by a thousand 
forms of unreal impression ; spectral images 
shall float before the eye ; the nose shall be 
occupied by odours which do not exist, and 
relative feeling shall be disturbed. Precisely 
similar effects will often be produced from an 
impression of primary disease of the brain; so 
that in either case of disorder of that organ, 
whether it may claim a physical or mental 
origin, we are prepared for perverted manifes- 
tations of mind. 

2. We notice, in the next place, the extreme 
susceptibility of these organs. The taste be- 
comes developed in an unusual degree ; so that 
the simple contact of many bodies with the 



118 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

tongue will instantaneously produce sickness, 
and bring on all those associated actions which 
\\diYQ primarily commenced in irritation of the 
brain : hearing will be rendered so acute that 
the slightest vibrations of the atmosphere will 
seem to the patient as thunder, and he will 
be incapable of listening without pain to the 
gentlest movements in his room : the eye will 
abhor its usual grateful stimulus^, light, and w^ill 
court the completest obscurity: while both 
these senses will be rendered so irritable, that 
voices will be heard, and forms w^ill be seen, 
where neither the one nor the other ever ex- 
isted. The sense of smelling will be offended 
by odours which are not in themselves dis- 
agreeable ; and the skin will be so susceptible, 
that it will feel soreness and pain from the 
slightest impressions ; its functions will be in- 
terrupted ; it wall be chilled by cold or fevered 
by heat, or unnaturally perspiring ; while it 
will cease to convey correct impressions, from 
the morbid excitability of its surface. Can it 
be surprising that, under many circumstances 
of invading disease, and while the brain is suf- 
fering from its oppression, this extreme suscep- 
tibility should operate in producing illusions ? 
For we are frail and feeble creatures, composed 
of body and mind ; and we have no access to 



CHAPTER V. 119 

external circumstances for the latter, except 
through the intervention of the former. 

3. But, thirdly, another expression of cere- 
bral disorder consists in hallucination. This 
manifestation of mental operation very fre- 
quently arises from the former : a perverted 
image is conveyed through the senses, and re- 
presented to the mind ; in consequence of the 
high degree of susceptibility of the brain, this 
impression is brooded over : it is frequently 
recalled even during sleep ; it is associated 
with other impressions, and grouped with 
them in some fancied order of preverted and 
fantastic arrangement, and it becomes so over- 
bearing a sensation, that the patient is con- 
vinced of its reality, and carried away by its 
reiterated impulse. At another time, the brain 
forms for itself these delusive images from 
the involuntarily recollected frusta of previous 
impressions, and their very natural, but not 
always coherent, associations ; and thus its 
action becomes perverted : it ceases to listen 
to the notices conveyed by the external senses, 
by means of which its internal impressions 
might have been compared and adjusted ; the 
voice of judgment is not heard, and the patient 
is absorbed by the certainty of his erroneous 
impressions, and verily believes in the exist- 



120 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

ence of the fancied offspring of a disordered 
imagination. In this state actual feelings are 
disregarded ; the morbid images supply their 
place, and are contemplated as the positive 
results of sensation. The natural laws of in- 
tellect are now superseded ; the brain is no 
longer the obedient servant of the mind ; but, 
in the tyranny of its usurpation, subjugates the 
reasoning powers, and compels them to yield 
to that human infirmity, which attaches itself 
to the grand prevailing cause that has marred 
the most perfect creation of Omnipotence, and 
has rendered that which was originally *' very 
good," now '' very far gone from original 
righteousness." 

These hallucinations may be very fugitive, 
especially at the commencement of cerebral 
disease ; and a powerful appeal to the mind, 
judiciously applied, may recal it to the influ- 
ence of right reason. But if disease should 
continue, it will soon relapse into the same or 
similar trains ; and if it should advance, or in- 
crease in intensity, this hallucination may be- 
come permanent, and it will then form delirium 
or insanity. These hallucinations will fre- 
quently commence during sleep, and the pa- 
tient, on rousing from that state, cannot be 
convinced of their illusion; they remain with 



CHAPTER V. 121 

the energy of waking impressions, and often 
become motives to conduct; and at all events 
form the groundwork for morbid reasoning. 
Here, however, we are treading too closely on 
the subject of visions, which will come to be 
considered more especially hereafter. 

4. Another result of cerebral disorder, is 
that of unconquerable wakefulness. A cease- 
less vigilance attacks the patient, and sleep 
seems to have fled for ever from his eyelids. 
It is astonishing how long a period will some- 
times be passed without repose; and so great 
are the attendant restlessness and irritability, 
that they are often beyond the control of 
medicine : nay more, the primary stimulus of 
opium seems to increase them in a degree far 
greater than can be quieted by its subsequent 
sedative effects ; while the application of an 
ice-cap, to cool the fevered brain, will prove 
the most efficacious remedy. For days and 
weeks together the patient will never sleep, 
and, daring the whole time, v/ill talk inces- 
santly. And yet, such is the wisdom of the 
Almighty Architect in protecting this organ of 
the mind, that it will not have eventually suf- 
fered from this protracted irritation, in a degree 
at all commensurate with that which would 
have been produced by the same excited ac- 



122 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

tion in other organs of the body. It will be 
seen, however, at a glance, how favourable 
must be this state of irritability, to the pro- 
duction and indulgence of morbid sensorial and 
intellectual impressions ; and then it may be 
inferred how easily this same state would be 
induced by a degree of the same cause, existing 
for any length of time, — but not so great as to 
be called disease, — escaping attention under 
the terms of '^restless nights," and of a "bad 
sleeper,^' till the morbid results have so far 
accumulated as to be uncontrollable. This 
form of great excitement may be followed by 
collapse, and destruction of the brain ; or it 
may be rapidly succeeded by congestion, and 
by a tendency to heavy sleep from which the 
patient can scarcely be aroused ; and from 
which, if left to himself, this very congestion 
may terminate in lethargy, apoplexy, or other 
of the deepening shades of cerebral disorder. 

5. But there are indications of brainular 
malady, which we must mention particularly, 
as they affect the intellectual and moral mani- 
festations. One of the first symptoms to be 
remarked, is an inaptitude for intellectual 
employment : the patient requires a frequent 
change of pursuit; he cannot turn his attention 
steadily to one object; he cannot reason or 



CHAPTER V. 123 

think consecutively ; he finds it impossible to 
fix his thoughts upon the reasoning of others ; 
his desk and his books are neglected ; and he 
himself is occupied with the veriest trifles, 
rendered important, in his estimation, by their 
association with some perverted images. More- 
over, if he has contrived to fix his attention, 
he soon becomes fatigued ; thus showing, that 
however the brain may on some occasions be 
disposed for over-action, it has not the power 
of supporting it, but rather that it exhausts 
itself by attempting to accomplish that to which 
it is utterly inadequate. 

Again, there is a susceptibility to moral im- 
pression, and a disposition to impulsive action, 
which show that the patient is not to be de- 
pended upon. Reason with him, convince his 
judgment, see his resolution fully taken^ ap- 
parently with all the immoveable determi- 
nativeness of conscious right ; leave him to act 
upon these convictions, and the first wave of 
new impression, or even the recurrence of an 
old one, will have dissipated all his firmness, 
and he acts in a way diametrically opposed to 
that on which he had resolved. There exists 
in him so intense and craving a desire after 
sensation, that it is of little consequence whe- 
ther it may be right or wrongs so it be but 



124 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

sensation ; only, if one morbid train of ideas 
shall have become predominant, it will be certain 
of claiming its supremacy, as soon as the patient 
gains time to listen to its suggestions. 

This supreme agency of one dominant idea 
is manifested in the history of A.B., which is 
also mentioned in this place as affording an 
apt illustration of the progress of cerebral dis- 
order. Family predisposition existed towards 
insanity ; the grandmother, the father, and the 
sister, had been subject to some one of the va- 
ried forms of mental aberration. But sur- 
rounded by affluence, and apparent comfort of 
every kind, A.B. had reached his sixtieth 
year without being exposed to the operation of 
exciting circumstances. It then happened, 
that moral causes, of a deeply painful nature, 
and connected with emotions of intense in- 
terest, characterized also by a depressing ten- 
dency^ assailed the patient : on these he 
brooded, till the brain became irritated by 
the unnatural goading and oppression, and then 
a slight deviation from regular habits was ob- 
served. But now morbid action had taken 
place in the room of family predisposition, and 
the brain became the increasing source of dis- 
ordered mental manifestation. The fear of 
poverty was the prominent idea, and the pos- 



CHAPTER V. 125 

sessor of very large and valuable landed pro- 
perty, as v^ell as from many other sources, 
suddenly became, in his own estimation, not 
worth a shilling, and the only prospect before 
him was that of interminable imprisonment. 
To reason with him was unavailing; for al- 
though at my professional visits I would de- 
monstrate to him, upon his own showing, that 
he was worth many, very many hundreds a- 
year, yet inevitable ruin impended over him ; 
cerebral disorder increased ; irritation of the 
brain became more conspicuous ; other insane 
ideas were added to the dread of penury, which 
however always remained supereminent ; and, 
after a short and a painful attendance, I was 
summoned one morning in great haste, and 
learned that he had found means for a single 
minute to elude the vigilance of his attendant, 
and was a corpse by his own hands. For the 
last act of his life^ doubtless, he was not re- 
sponsible ; but let us learn a lesson of usefulness 
from this melancholy relation. 

In the first place, we see the germ of disease, 
the origin of cerebral irritation, in the influence 
of moral causes, and the subsequent history 
shows that, even in this life, the path of sin is 
one of unmingied bitterness and misery; it has 
its providentially ordained punishment, and 



126 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



though we would be far from limiting the mercy 
of God, and though we would hope that lucid 
intervals may be devoted to repentance, humi- 
liation, and prayer, yet we cannot but see that 
irritation of the brain, and the paroxysm of in- 
sanit}'-, must be fearful barriers in the way of 
seeking God, and turning to him with full pur- 
pose of heart. May we watch and pray to be 
preserved from sin, and all its awful conse- 
quences ! The Holy Spirit will not always 
strive with man : may we be saved from tempt- 
ing that Spirit to depart from us, or from pro- 
voking our long- suffering Creator to leave us to 
an afflictive dispensation, which goes far to 
quench the light of spiritual life in the soul, by 
shutting it out through the material veil of dis- 
eased organization. 

Secondly, let us observe, that that which 
originated in moral causes was continued and 
extended by the disordered action of the brain ; 
and that then other manifestations of mind be- 
came perverted ; false premises and inferences 
usurped the dominion of mind : the patient at 
length ceases to be an accountable agent, and 
closes a life of misery in the most melancholy 
manner ; for if we deprecate sudden death at 
all times, how much more the death of the sui- 
cide ! 



CHAPTER V. 127 

Thirdly, we notice that the brain being once 
disordered, there is no setting bounds to the 
distorted images which it will produce, or to 
the creation of its wild associations. 

And, fourthly, let us learn the value of reli- 
gious principle : this would have saved the 
victim from the first cause of brainular irrita- 
tion ; it would have offered a healing balm in 
the all-powerful blood of Christ, even after 
that irritation had commenced, and would have 
led to peace and reconciliation with God ; and 
even after insanity had been produced, could 
the bodily disease have been subdued, or could 
the hope of the Gospel have been embraced by 
the mind during a lucid interval, it would have 
given that best medicine, which might have 
confirmed the results of physical treatment, 
and afforded a prospect of permanent peace to 
the wretched sufferer. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Same subject continued. — Early and slight changes of cha- 
racter accompanying this state ; — varied influence upon the 
bodily functions ; — intermittent or remittent character of 
its maladies ; — epilepsy ; — possession ; — causes producing 
this state; — original malconformation ; — wounds; — con- 
cussion ; — compression ; — fever ; — local inflammation ; — 
the entire class of nervous diseases; — hypochondriasis; 
— general inferences. 

But again : perhaps long before the symptoms 
are fairly cognizable, there is a slight change of 
character, or manner, or habit, which ought 
always to excite alarm on the part of friends ; 
as, for instance, where the prudent suddenly 
become prodigal ; or the mild and benevolent, 
vindictive; or the good-tempered, morose; or 
the cheerful desponding ; or where the manner 
of confiding openness is exchanged for distrust 
or suspicion ; or the reserved become accessible ; 
or the taciturn loquacious; or where habits of 
retirement have been superseded by a love of 
company, or, on the contrary, a desire after 



CHAPTER VI. 129 

society has given place to habits of seclusion^ 
and abstraction from mankind : in fact, w^hen- 
ever, in any way, a deviation from original and 
established character is observed, then let ce- 
rebral disorder be suspected, and it will almost 
always be found. As it proceeds, and as the 
shadows of departing reason are deepened, de- 
lirium will be noticed as a frequent accompani- 
ment; sometimes only as a transient symptom 
for a few moments ; at others prolonging its in- 
sidious visitation, varying very much as to 
character, from the determined and exclusive 
raving of the monomaniac, to the ever-shifting 
mutability of him who wanders hither and 
thither, without object, without end, without 
guide, and without purpose. 

As disorder of the brain advances, there may 
be increasing mental darkness proceeding to a 
total suspension of intelligence ; and the indi- 
vidual becomes a mere wreck of himself; his 
glory has departed from him, and he has exhi- 
bited the most pitiable example of the wrath of 
the offended Majesty of heaven against sin. 
Yet, be it remembered, the case is not hopeless ; 
and even this state of misery and destitution 
admits of relief. The wretched victim of cere- 
bral disorder may yet be restored to himself, to 
society, to his duties, and to the enjoyment of 

K 



180 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

intellectual pleasures, as well as to the pursuit 
of moral worth ; but by what means ? Not by 
any process of reasoning — not by moral suasion 
— not by didactic appeals to his understanding, 
or by an impression upon his feelings — not by 
all the arts of rhetoric, the efforts of educa- 
tion, or even, while in that state, the impres- 
siveness of religious motive ; — all these would 
of themselves be utterly unavailing ; but by re- 
medial measures, directed, not to the spiritual 
principle, which is not diseased, but to its or- 
gan which is; in fact, addressed to the brain, 
with all its variously-associated sympathies. 

But we proceed to show, that cerebral dis- 
order^ and diseased manifestation of mind, are 
connected with other bodily effects, which can- 
not in truth be referred to any other than a 
bodily cause. Thus, for instance, we may 
mention the great variety of muscular affections 
which attend the several forms of malady now 
under consideration; beginning with the sim- 
plest disturbance of the dance of St. Vitus, and 
terminating with that wretched state of suffer- 
ing, in which the patient is doubled up upon 
himself, and scarcely retains the form of a 
human being. Among these also, may be 
reckoned, feebleness and diminution of the 
power of the will over the voluntary motions, 



CHAPTER VI. 131 

involuntary actions, tremors, general palsy, 
palsy of only one half of the body, convulsions, 
irritation of only one set of muscles, and para- 
lysis of their antagonists, as of the flexor and 
extensor muscles of a limb, all the varieties of 
cramp, and, above all, the peculiar expression 
of the countenance, arising from the constant 
and exclusive employment of certain muscles to 
embody the feelings and views. But if all these 
bodily effects be readily traced to irritation of 
the brain, it must surely be allowed, that these 
same disturbances, from whatever cause arising, 
will exert a reflex influence upon the cerebral 
organ, and tend to place it in a very unfit state 
for intellectual integrity of manifestation, and 
one in which it will be easily excited to morbid 
sympathy. 

Lastly, we shall notice the intermittent or re- 
mittent character of the brain's maladies ; such 
as in epilepsy, hysteria, and other diseases, more 
especially belonging to the nervous system. 
Now this attribute cannot surely be ascribed to 
the influence of a spiritual immaterial principle ; 
which in itself, as a cause of disease, cannot 
admit of change, of paroxysm, of increased 
mischief, and again of improvement. It is true 
that these diseases have been referred to dis- 
tant sympathies ; but the brain is evidently 

K 2 



132 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

their real source. It must be remembered, 
also, that epilepsy has been ascribed to pos- 
session, and even at the present day, an impres- 
sion of this kind exists in the mind.of the vulgar. 
I have been frequently told that such and such an 
epileptic individual was '' overseen;'" nor can we 
blame these results of superstition among the 
vulgar, while their superiors in intellect and 
acquirement continue to refer similar effects to 
mental agency. The influence of epilepsy 
upon the brain is such, as in its progress to 
destroy altogether the manifestations of mind, 
and to produce a hideous expression of the 
countenance, usually a peculiar grin, which, 
with minds predisposed to such explanation, 
it would not be difficult to imagine Satanic; 
but which is manifestly the result of the organ 
having been rendered unfit for the manifesta- 
tions of mind : and the semi-human expres- 
sion of involuntary laughter remains to tell the 
sad tale of what sin has wrought. But in this 
case will it be said, that the soul is the seat of 
disease ? Surely not ! And if not, if disease of 
brain can produce a perfect obliteration of men- 
tal manifestation, it may be permitted also 
to occasion its perversion, and to give rise to those 
unreal images which have been called apparitions. 
Before we conclude this part of our inquiry, 



CHAPTER VJ. 133 

we must notice some of the causes producing 
diseased manifestations of mind. 

1. Original malconformation will give rise to 
idiotcy. Instances have occurred which show 
that without brain there can be no manifestation 
of mind : and in old age^ that organ undergoes 
a change which shuts out the operations of the 
mind from being perceived. But can it be 
believed that the idiot has no soul ? or that the 
feebleness of old age extinguishes the powers 
of the spiritual principle, at a period when it is 
fast approaching its glorious change of immor- 
tality ; or that the humble, faithful servant of 
God is liable to disease of spirit, just as he is 
actually entering the confines of the heavenly 
world ? No : the brain may be diseased or 
enfeebled, but the soul can be subject only to 
one moral taint, for which a remedy has been 
provided. A similar effect will sometimes be 
produced, in some cases, by water on the brain. 

2. Wounds of the brain will occasion a variety 
of morbid sym ptom s, differing too accord ing to the 
precise portion of brainular structure which has 
become the subject of injury ; thus demonstra- 
ting, so far as demonstration is possible, the de- 
pendence of mental manifestation on brainular 
integrity. 

3. Concussion of the brain will produce gid- 



134 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

diness, sickness, a complete loss of power and 
of recollection, and generally a suspension of 
the manifestations of mind. These symptoms 
may be so intense as to occasion death ; and if 
not, they will be followed by a reaction, which 
will be attended by inflammation, delirium, or 
insanity. Still, by the blessing of God, under 
a judicious management, there is an ultimate 
restoration to the state of health. It is also 
probable that sea-sickness and sick-headache 
both owe their origin to some irritation of the 
brain. 

4. Compression of this organ, from what- 
ever cause arising, and however slight in degree, 
will produce, according to its intensity, more or 
less alteration, and even extinction^ of mental 
manifestation ; and when that compression is 
suddenly relieved, there will sometimes be an 
immediate return to health, but more generally 
it will be through a series of perverted mani- 
festations. 

5. The state of fever will occasion large de- 
viations from healthy brainular function. These 
will vary materially according as the febrile 
condition shall partake more or less of the 
inflammatory character ; as it shall be more or 
less characterized by debility or oppression ; as 
it shall be marked by symptoms of a peculiar 



CHAPTER VI. 135 

nature ; or as it shall more evidently depend 
upon the morbid structure of some particular 
organ, and assume the form of decided hectic. 
In all these states, however, one feature is to 
be uniformly found ; namely, that of perverted 
mental manifestation : visions are seen which 
have no reality, but which are firmly believed 
by the patient, who maintains them as never 
doubting their existence; persons and things 
appear and act and talk as they would do 
under the supposed circumstances, and the 
patient will consistently relate that such has 
been the case. Now let it be recollected, that 
we have here traced apparitions of one kind, 
visions, &c., to a bodily -morbid cause ; and if 
this be indisputable, it can scarcely be denied, 
that all other supernatural appearances may 
be referred to some similar or analogous cause. 

6. Local inflammation of a slow character, 
and consequent disorganization, must be enu- 
merated as another cause of the perversion of 
mental manifestation, and of the more or less 
complete destruction of intellectual power. 

7. The whole class of nervous diseases contri- 
bute to impair, and, under extreme circumstan- 
ces, to destroy the manifestations of mind. We 
are well aware, that nervous disorders have been 
often ascribed to fancy ; and, from the facility 



136 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

with which tliey may be simulated, . this is 
likely to be the case in some instances : but 
still no rational person will deny that the 
nervous system is liable to disease ; and that it 
produces great distress when so disturbed. None 
but persons who have thus suffered, or who 
have witnessed such sufferings, can imagine 
the misery which it induces, on the perversions 
of intellect, feeling, perception, and judgment, 
to which it gives rise. This state may be very 
transient, or it may continue for years ; it may 
be suspended by a powerful impression upon 
the system, or it may resist every remedial 
measure ; it may be called into action by men- 
tal emotion, or bodily disturbance : it may be 
opposed by a powerful effort of the will ; but 
it will be cured only by that which relieves 
the source of irritation, and then gives tone to 
those nerves to prevent their too great suscep- 
tibility. How is this to be accounted for, on 
the supposition of merely mental agency ? 

The converse of this proposition is further il- 
lustrated by the good effects of cold applied to 
the head. Wherever there is irritation, thither 
will blood be determined, and congestion^ or 
inflammatory action, will be the result. In 
persons so predisposed to cerebral excite- 
ment, great advantage will accrue from the 



CHAPTER VI. 137 

application to the head of cold water, suffered 
to evaporate, which operates in diminishing 
increased action ; carrying off heat as one 
cause of stimulation; subduing sensibility by 
its directly sedative influence ; relieving ful- 
ness and tension, by its condensing effect upon 
the blood ; and preventing congestion, by 
giving that degree of tone to the vessels that 
they will not readily yield to the impulse of the 
blood, or allow themselves to be distended by 
it. The good effects of cold applied to the 
head, in diminishing the excitement arising 
from wine, or other alcoholic stimulus, is well 
known to those who take too much habitually : 
yet we see that the use of this means presup- 
poses a bodily organ in a state of irritation, and 
is only adapted to relieve the phenomena of 
mind, by operating on the material medium 
through which its manifestations are made. 

Lastly : we will only further notice a few of 
the different phases of hypochondriasis. It was 
formerly supposed, that this malady depended 
upon a merely disordered state of the digestive 
organs ; and it may be so in some instances. 
But often, where this is the case, it is only that 
these organs form the first link in the chain of 
disturbance, and that, irritating a too susceptible 
brain, they produce phenomena which are 



138 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

purely cerebral. Generally it will be found, 
that the brain is primarily affected, and that 
the digestive organs only suffer from the inter- 
ruption of a due and regular supply of nervous 
influence. It is true, that moral causes do 
generally occasion and characterize hypochon- 
driasis; and they do so by their disturbing 
operation upon the organ appointed for their 
manifestation. Thus it will be found, that 
grief, fear, shame, ennui, and disappointment, 
become the frequent sources of hypochon- 
driasis : and it will be acknowledged, that these 
all agree as to their action ; namely, that of ex- 
citing a depressing influence upon the brain. 
This depression enfeebles its energies, allows 
congestion to take place, and the consequent 
irritable reaction arises from the disturbance 
created by such circumstances. 

Let us not doubt, or underrate the sufferings 
of the hypochondriac, or fancy that he himself 
might remedy them if he would : he has lost 
the power of the will over his mental mani- 
festations, and he has become feeble, capricious, 
changeful, and irritable. One of the first and 
most remarkable symptoms about the hypo- 
chondriac, is the loss of sleep : should he even 
feel drowsy beforehand, no sooner does he 
place his head upon his pillow, than sleep quits 



CHAPTER YI. 139 

his eyelids, and seems to mock his wooing; 
an irritability of brain is produced, which is not 
easily overcome : in this case, too, opium, very 
frequently fails to induce sleep, because of the 
state of cerebral excitement which the narcotic 
cannot subdue, and therefore cannot produce 
that congested state of its vessels through the 
medium of which it operates in procuring sleep. 
And since it fails of its effect, it tends to excite 
and irritate an already-irritated brain, and to 
increase the symptoms it was intended to 
relieve. It will be found, also, that this in- 
creased action of the cerebral circulation, is 
attended by headache, and by the perversion 
of the mental manifestations ; sustained atten- 
tion is impossible; perception is clouded on the 
one hand, or morbidly acute on the other : 
memory is lost, so that the patient does not 
recollect what he has said ten minutes before ; 
nor will he remember ten minutes hence that 
which is now enjoined. His judgment is feeble, 
erring, fallacious ; his will changed at every 
instant, and by every changing impression. 
Now, whence these perverted manifestations? 
Is it that the spiritual principle is diseased ? 
Rather is it not that its organ has ceased to be 
subservient to its purposes ? 

Moreaver, the senses of the hypochondriac 



140 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

are endowed with an extreme degree of sensi- 
bility, or they are Hable to frequent hallucina- 
tions, or they become depraved. Thus^ for 
instance, he hears voices, and receives admoni- 
tions ; he sees visions, and is often assailed by 
unearthly visitants: he perceives around him 
objects which have no real existence : he ac- 
quires a fondness for substances in themselves 
disgusting : his feeling is unusually acute : 
above all, his skin becomes morbidly sensitive 
to changes of temperature : a stream, of cold 
air is as death to his comforts : and he is par- 
ticularly excited and irritable during the pre- 
valence of an atmosphere highly charged with 
electrical matter. Again : he forms false es- 
timates of himself and his circumstances ; he 
is convinced that he suffers the agonies of im- 
pending dissolution : at one time, his heart, he 
thinks, is oppressed with blood ; it is stagnated 
there, and the organ can beat no longer; at 
another^ he cannot breathe ; and again, at a 
third, his stomach is worn out ; or other fancies. 
That these are really hallucinations, is mani- 
fest from the healthy state of the organs al- 
leged to be diseased ; from the frequent change 
of the viscus said to be affected ; and from the 
kind and degree of indisposition. Moreover, 
the extreme inquietude of hypochondriacs re- 



CHAPTER VI. 141 

specting their health ; the fear of one lest he 
be touched, because his body is composed of 
glass, and is so brittle that the slightest touch 
may occasion its destruction ; the dread of ano- 
ther to go from home, because his body being 
a grain of barley he fears he shall be consumed 
by the chickens ; the hopeless deprecation of 
the Divine vengeance by another, and the fruit- 
lessness of reasoning in all such cases, to pro- 
duce more just convictions; together with the 
advantage resulting from medicine and disci- 
pline, — all show the importance of attending to 
the brain. This conclusion is confirmed by the 
patients' frequent change of humour and ex- 
pression ; their overweening cordiality or sus- 
picion — their varying mode of expression— the 
feebleness and changefulness of their purposes 
— the general timidity of their character — their 
particular pusillanimity and fearfulness — their 
irascibility without adequate cause — the rest- 
lessness of their pursuits — their frequent mo- 
rose reception of intended kindness— and their 
unprovoked jealousy,— all prove the extent to 
which the brain, as the organ of mind, has suf- 
fered, and show the importance of making this 
the first object of our attention. And if it 
were necessary to accumulate proofs, they might 
be found in the frequent disturbance of the mus- 



142 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

cular system and loss of power, amounting even 
to partial palsy. 

It is possible, that when existing only in a 
slight extent, this cerebral excitation may com- 
municate a considerable degree of activity to 
the intellectual operations during a certain por- 
tion of time ; but in a more advanced state of 
the malady, the brain becomes unequal to the 
discharge of its functions : and thus the ideas 
become confused, disconnected, inconsequent, 
too tardy or too rapid : the mental manifesta- 
tion is languid, or is excited to transient action 
which produces no result ; the ideas become 
unreasonable ; the sensations fallacious; and oc- 
casional delirium or absolute insanity closes the 
long train of morbid cerebral manifestation. 

From this review of the influence of cerebral 
disorder, we shall only infer, that a certain state 
of brainular malady always produces disordered 
manifestations of mind : that disordered mani- 
festations of mind may be always traced back to 
functional disease of its organ : and that in 
such states the most unreal images are presented 
to the mind of the patient, with a degree of 
impressiveness, which supersedes the power of 
reason, and the influence of judgment, and gives 
them all the attributes of simple and sober truth. 

Thus, then, we trust it has been proved, — 



CHAPTER Vf. 143 

That the organ through which the mind acts 
is material, and that it is liable to be affected by 
physical causes : 

That it is subject to different kinds and de- 
grees of irritation, according to the particular 
organ which is disturbed, and which forms the 
first link in the chain of morbid action : 

That the manifestations of mind will be pro- 
portionally disordered, and w^ill partake of the 
peculiarity of this organic derangement: And, 

That the brain, being once overpoised from 
its triple balance of physical, intellectual, and 
moral agency, perversion of action will be the 
consequence : and that, escaping the guidance 
of the will, it will continue to act on without 
direction, and will become liable to be deceived 
by disordered mental manifestations, which do 
in fact result only from a loss of the balance of 
power : whether this may have been occasioned 
by primary or secondary physical irritation — 
by the overstrained employment of the brain in 
literary pursuit, — or by the influence of power- 
ful and exclusive emotion. 

The very great difference in the symptoms of 
several of these morbid states, arising apparently 
from the same source of disease, would lead us 
to suspect that the brain must be liable to indi- 
vidual inappreciable peculiarities, which give 



144 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

their impression to its morbid as well as to its 
healthy manifestations ; and a little considera- 
tion will show us, that this arises from a law of 
Nature's, which has stamped this diversity of 
operation upon that organ. 

It is this alone which will account for the in- 
finite diversity of original character ; that un- 
sophisticated expression of mind which is visi- 
ble before it has been influenced by education, 
and the various agencies of social life. No two 
individuals are precisely alike : even in the same 
family, there is a striking difference between its 
several branches : family resemblance may be 
handed down, to a certain extent, from genera- 
tion to generation ; yet in each, there will be a 
variety of mental manifestation, which consti- 
tutes peculiar character, even as the features of 
the countenance serve to distinguish those whose 
near alliance may entitle them to the possession 
of general likeness ; and to maintain the con" 
sciousness of personal identity. 

In what then does this difference consist, 
and how is it produced ? Is it mental or physi- 
cal ? does it originate with the great God, the 
Creator of the ends of the earth, or may it be 
accounted for on natural principles ? We adopt 
unhesitatingly the latter alternative ; — since, if 
we did not do so, — if we asserted the peculia- 



CHAPTER VJ. 145 

rity to be mental, it must be communicated from 
the almighty Fountain of goodness, who gives to 
man a reasonable soul, and who thus becomes 
the author of all the natural obliquities and 
perversions of spiritual manifestation; — a conse- 
quence too blasphemous to be tolerated. 

On the other hand, we believe every gift of 
God to be good, and the soul of man, as ema- 
nating from him, to be pure and holy ; — it be- 
comes prone to evil by its alliance with mate- 
riality — with that fallen nature upon which the 
influence of sin has been soprominently impress- 
ed ; — and then its manifestations assume the 
tinge of the material medium appointed for their 
expression; and individual peculiarity is ac- 
counted for upon the same principle with the 
distinctive attributes of other animals. The 
only difference is this, that man has within him 
a spiritual presiding principle, and that all his 
animal propensities are subjected to its influ- 
ence ; and therefore he is responsible for every 
act, and thought, and feeling, and expression. — 
Originally he had power to choose the good, and 
refuse the evil ; and although now he has lost 
that power in his own strength, and sin reigns 
in his mortal body, and his mental manifesta- 
tions are debased, — yet a remedy has been pro- 
vided in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and in 

L 



146 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the promised aid of the Holy Spirit. Now all 
these varied influences — animal peculiarity, dif- 
ference of social relation, education, opportu- 
nity, custom and habit, advantages of religious 
instruction, the abandonment or the reception of 
moral sanctions, the acceptance or the rejec- 
tion of the proffered offers of mercy, and the 
degree in which the heart is under the guidance 
of religious motive and principle — will sufficient- 
ly explain the diversities of present character. 
But if so, these diversities have been shown 
to consist not in variety of spiritual essence, but 
of the material medium through which its manifes- 
tations are made ; — and this again explains the 
infinite variety of its morbid actions. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Phenomena of sleep, and its morbid states ; — its physiologi- 
cal laws ; — its' morbid conditions ; — waking dreams or re- 
veries ; — nightmare ; — dreams. 

The next stage of our inquiry, in proceeding 
from the more simple to the more complicated 
results, will be to glance a little at the physio- 
logical phenomena of sleep ; but more particu- 
larly to consider its morbid states. 

It would be right, were it possible, to define, in 
the first instance, in what consists simple, na- 
tural, healthy sleep, before we proceed to de- 
scribe its pathological conditions, in order that 
the exact amount of the latter might be esti- 
mated by contrasting them with the former : 
but here, again, we find a limit placed to our 
investigation ; for it is an inexplicable boon pro- 
vided for the weary and the wayworn by the be- 
neficent Creator, and so essentially interwoven 

L 2 



148 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

with the constitution, as to be inseparable from 
its well-being, and to form a vital action, the 
precise nature of which is unknown. Its in- 
fluence is a fundamental law impressed upon ani- 
mal life; and all bow to its agency; but we 
know not why. It is the offspring of life, and' 
like its parent, is difficult, perhaps impossible, 
to be defined ; and we must be contented with 
the scanty information we can obtain of its na- 
tural phenomena, and of the many deviations 
from its healthy state. In fact, it is far easier 
to say what it is not, than to describe wherein 
it consists. 

It is, however, important to remark, that it 
is not a state of absolute quiescence; for many 
organs of the body will continue to act on dur- 
ing sleep ; and, indeed, will be possessed of a 
greater degree of activity than is customary, 
precisely because the intellectual function is 
less employed. Thus, all the processes on which 
the continuance of life depends, go on uninter- 
ruptedly : the beating of the heart, and the 
heaving of the chest, are visible and tangible ; 
the process of digestion is even more com- 
pletely performed during sleep, than in the 
waking state, because more nervous energy can 
be then accumulated about the stomach than 
can be spared for the individual wants of this 



CHAPTER VII. 149 

organ at a period when it is distributed among 
a variety of active functions. But let it be asked, 
whence is this continued supply of nervous ener- 
gy derived ? If from the brain, it surely must be 
one of those organs v^hich does not enter 
into complete repose during sleep; and, ad- 
mitting this, we shall be prepared to account 
for many of the disturbed phenomena of that 
process. 

The brain continues its unwearied action dur- 
ing sleep ; but many of its intellectual manifes- 
tations are laid aside, or are so obscured by this 
state as not to be cognizable. It should seem 
that as an intellectual organ it was more liable 
to exhaustion, than as a merely corporeal agent; 
and that, therefore, sleep had been provided 
more particularly for the repose of the intellec- 
tual brain ; and this opinion is supported by 
the fact, that fatigue is induced much earlier 
when bodily exertion is accompanied by mental 
eiFort or emotion ; more especially if that emo- 
tion be of a depressing character. A conse- 
quence of this law is, that in sleep the brain 
ceases to be the servant of the mind, or spi- 
ritual principle, and is no longer obedient to 
the will. For, as wakefulness may be defined 
to be a state of the brain in which the exercise 
of its functions is submitted to the will, with a 



150 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

consciousness of such submission ; so sleep is 
the opposite state, during which there is a sus- 
pension of all possible intellectual action ; and 
the entire brainular function is no longer under 
the influence of the will, nor in any way sub- 
jected to its control. 

Thus, sleep is provided for the restoration of 
the nervous system; and in its most healthy 
form is of a light character, and easily dis- 
turbed ; the brain, immediately upon awaken- 
ing, entering upon the full tide of its functions. 
The reason is obvious, and shows the infinite 
wisdom of that Creative Power which has sur- 
rounded us with wonders. During sleep, man 
is in a defenceless state ; and if it were not 
easily disturbed, he would not be aware of the 
approach of danger ; nor in an instant capable 
of taking the necessary precautionary measures 
of escape or defence. This is easily seen by 
watching the heavy slumber of an oppressed 
brain, and the sudden wakening, not to the 
energy of action, but to dulness and stupidity 
of perception, and to generally feeble or per- 
verted manifestations. The repose of the brain 
is often incomplete ; and then, though the organ 
be wholly or partially abstracted from the in- 
fluence of the will^ it nevertheless continues a 
certain kind of action, without the guidance and 



CHAPTER VJT. 151 

direction of the judgment : unrefreshing sleep is 
the result, and its subject rises in the morning 
wearied, with enfeebled powers of the body, 
and with greatly diminished capacity for the 
manifestations of mind. 

The arrival of sleep may be evaded for a con- 
siderable time, by various stimuli ; but after a 
certain interval, longer or shorter according to 
the idiosyncracy of the individual, nature claims 
her prerogative : her voice will be heard ; and 
the invasion of sleep becomes irresistible. But 
when it takes place under such circumstances, 
it is generally oppressive, and does not recruit 
exhausted power, since the brain has been irri- 
tated by previous excitants ; and when itself, 
or any of the organs with which it stands con- 
nected, are in a state of irritation, quiet sleep 
is not to be expected. 

As the invasion of sleep may thus be warded 
off for a considerable tiuie by the agency of 
various stimuli^ so a state of morbid vigilance may 
be produced by certain conditions of the brain, 
and by various other exciting causes. Thus, 
acute i7'ritation of the brain, even when attended 
by power on the part of the constitution will pro- 
duce it. Opium exhibited for this purpose will 
occasion it. In the opposite state of the system, 
in which excitation is produced without power 



152 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

to support it, the degree of nervous irritability 
will be such as to render sleep impossible, till 
calm has been obtained ; and the same effects 
will originate from the agency of green-tea, cof- 
fee, and other stimulants. Now it is quite im- 
possible that these causes, to which many others 
might be added, can all agree in the possession 
of one common property^ by which wakefulness is 
produced ; or that the vigilance so created can 
admit of a similar treatment. 

But if not, the brain may be variously irri- 
tated by various disturbing causes : and these 
causes may operate effects upon its physio- 
logical function with which we are at present 
unacquainted ; because we know not the man- 
ner in which the connexion between the brain 
and its distant associated organs is carried on, 
and therefore we cannot ascertain the mode in 
which it is disturbed, while this very mode con- 
stitutes the essential character of morbid vigi- 
lance. It is sufficient for us to ascertain that 
the brain is excited by various, and even oppo- 
site causes ; and that these causes produce ef- 
fects varying in kind, and differing in degree, 
though they are all uniform in disturbing the 
manifestations of mind. 

We must attend more particularly to some of 
the morbid states of sleep ; and, first, oi waking 



CHAPTER VIT. 153 

dreams, or reveries. To many persons there is 
something so pleasing in the semi-unconscious- 
ness which this state involves, that they indulge 
it, for the sake of enjoying the gratification it 
affords. 

Reverie consists in dissociating the mind 
from such external circumstances as would tend 
to fix and controul its operations ; and thus 
creating for itself images of interest, and group- 
ing them together so as to produce various 
emotions; and in imagining situations for ac- 
tion or passion often impossible, and generally 
monstrous or improbable. Here there are no 
impediments in the way ; for every difficulty is 
subdued by the powerful agency of a lawless 
imagination. In this state the patient is often 
unconscious of all that passes around him : he 
is called absent — that is^, he does not attend 
to external realities, because such attention 
would break the charm of reverie by which he 
remains spell-bound — yet without the slightest 
consciousness of being so. 

Now, let it be remarked, that here is con- 
tinued action of the brain, without the support 
of volition or the influence of judgment; and 
that in this state, unreal images are presented 
to the mind with all the semblance of truth 
and reality. The brain, then, when left to it- 



154 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

self, in consequence of the disorder which is 
thrown into its actions, is capable of producing 
images, imagining situations, and inventing 
consequences, without reason or truth. And, 
if so, it may surely be granted— at least it may 
be asked without presumption — that some other 
analogous but unknown action might be the re- 
sult ; and this unknown action may be the 
creation of spectral forms. 

This opinion is confirmed by the phenomena 
of nightmare. This mighty enemy to peaceful 
repose generally depends upon the state of the 
brain, either primarily or secondarily. In the 
first place, it is most frequent, and most 
complete in cerebral affections ; and espe- 
cially in that peculiar condition of the brain 
which has arisen from intellectual over-action ; 
in which a large quantity of blood has been 
determined to that viscus, and in which the 
balance of power, having been overturned by 
some occasional cause, the organ has become 
exhausted, and has been rendered irritable as a 
consequence of such excitement and exhaustion. 

Moreover, the phenomena of nightmare are 
purely cerebral, and always disappear upon 
perfect waking : for the distress of the patient 
is occasioned by being placed in some imaginary 
situation of terror or danger, and by his incapa- 



CHAPTER VII. i 156 

city to escape ; so that, in a se vere paroxysm, 
he awakens, after a violent strug'gle, trembling, 
agitated, v^ith palpitation of the 5 heart, and in 
violent perspiration — all these symptoms point- 
ing out the really intense agony which he has 
suffered from this visionary impression, pro- 
duced by a physical condition of the organ of 
mind. They who have attendee d to this form 
of malady in themselves, will tiave observed, 
that the attack is very generally preceded by 
an unwonted drowsiness, showing that the 
brain is oppressed; and, indeed, the occur- 
rence of sleep, and the invasion of the symp- 
toms of nightmare, often happen s o very rapidly 
after going to bed, that the pati ent fancies it 
has occurred before he could ]3ossibly have 
fallen asleep ; as, in fact, it do es before he 
would have been asleep under ord inary circum- 
stances. But this never really happens; the 
patient must be asleep, or he does not suffer 
from nightmare. This is another proof of the 
cerebral origin of this malady ; so that^ if it be 
remotely depending upon the state of the sto- 
mach—and we believe that it frecfuently may 
be so — it is produced, not by the immediate 
agency of that viscus, but by its nervous and 
sympathetic connexion with the brain. And 
again, if from any cause the latter organ shall 



156 ES'SAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

have been powerfully excited late at night, that 
night will^ in persons so predisposed, be almost 
certainly characterized by nightmare ; so that, 
after a time, the patient may unerringly cal- 
culate upon the attack from his sensations be- 
fore falling asleep. ^ 

Again : the intensity will be governed by the 
more or less morbid state of the cerebral organ ; 
it will be severe when that morbid condition is 
considerable ; it will increase with the deepen- 
ing shades of brainular malady; and it will 
diminish exactly in proportion with the gradual 
return to healthy action, and with the progress 
of convalescence ; till the attack shall have be- 
come slight^ and the images with which it is 
associated ludicrously embarrassing, instead of 
being frightfid ; and till a perfect restoration of 
the organ also restores the patient to that 
healthy state in which the ugly hag no longer 
haunts his pillow. 

Once moire : the attack of nightmare is 
most common to individuals who possess an 
irritable brain. And, finally, the illmions which 
attend it are complete : the patient verily be- 
lieves in their actual existence ; and it is only 
by the influence of the judgment, reason, and 
experience, that he can be convinced of the 
contrary truth. Now, these illusions involve 



CHAPTER VII. 157 

the appearance of different individuals ; their 
speaking and actings according;* to certain sup-, 
posed circumstances ; and the consequences of 
such words and actions : all these being as- 
suredly felt by the patient in no ordinary mea- 
sure. I have been the more desirous of show- 
ing that this state is an affection of the brain, 
because of the natural inference, that in one 
particular state of that organ images are pro- 
duced with all the character of reality about 
them — speaking, moving, thinking, and acting. 
This illusion is so complete, that their existence 
is never doubted for a moment ; and, therefore, 
there is nothing unreasonable in the supposi- 
tion^ that other morbid states of the same organ 
may give rise to varying, though analogous, phe- 
nomena. 

We shall now proceed a step further, to the 
history and mystery of dreams. 

Before, however, entering upon this subject 
more particularly, we must just notice the great 
activity of the brain during sleep. — It will be seen 
also that this is not the increased activity of the 
immaterial principle^ when for the time disso- 
ciated from the entire agency of its cumbrous 
medium of manifestation ; because, if this were 
the case, we should have to mention only per- 
fect ideas,Tefined images, and correct notices, as 



158 



ESSA-y 



ON SUPERSTITION. 



resulting from such disencumbered action; in- 
stead of the common result, imperfect ideas, 
confused images, and incorrect impressions. 

Thus, again, at the outset of our inquiry we 
trace dreaming to a condition of the material 
brain, not of the immaterial principle: and it 
must be seen, that by so doing we vindicate the 
honour of God, aiad that we do not derogate from 
his power, or wisdom^ or goodness. For if dream- 
ing be produced by a peculiar condition of the 
organ of mind, that organ having been subjected 
to the perverting agency which accompanied 
man's lost and ruined state, the facts are ac- 
counted for ; this is a result of the natural 
punishment which attaches to sin, and is itself 
a proof of its debasing influence, while it forms 
a connecting link in the chain of the most per- 
fect moral government of the world. 

But if the strange, and fantastic, and hetero- 
geneous groups of dreams do actually result 
from the uninfluenced associations of the imma- 
terial spirit ; and if these do actually require 
to be corrected by the waking state — that 
is, by the influence of the brain (the organ 
appropriated for exhibiting the manifestations 
of mind) 'upon them— two consequences will 
result ; namely. That the immaterial spirit 
possessefi very limited powers of intelligence ; 



CHAPTER VII. 159 

and^ That these require to be aided by its mate- 
7'ial conneMons ; — results which are falsified by- 
daily experience ; and which, if allowed, would 
leave us at once in the darkness of the night of 
materialism. 

The fact is, however, that the immaterial 
spirit is not necessarily engaged in the pheno- 
mena of dreaming : the brain is not its servant 
during sleep, because by that very state it is 
unfitted for intellectual operations ; and when 
it does act, it is without the control of a pre- 
siding mind ; and therefore the morbid state of 
dreaming, instead of the physiological process of 
correct thinking, is produced. 

That the mode of association, and the habit 
of brainular action, are most rapid, may be 
proved by the phenomenon of dreaming, when 
we are awakened by a servant's customary 
knock in the morning. Sometimes this regu- 
larly-repeated sound will be received by the 
appropriate organ of sense, and will be trans- 
mitted to the brain ; where it will produce, or 
at the least elicit, the customary automatic 
answer, without conveying any impression to 
the sentient principle ; so that there shall re- 
main no consciousness of having been called at 
all. At another time, when the sleep is less 



160 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

perfect, the momentary knock at the door will 
excite in the brain an action connected with a 
long train of associated images : so that in the 
second of time which elapses between the 
impression of that sound, and the state of abso- 
lute wakening, a long dr^am will be passed 
through ; sometimes manifestly associated with 
this atmospherical vibration, and at others not 
so ; but uniformly marked by an inconceivable 
rapidity in the succession of images or impres- 
sions, which are dissipated as soon as perfect 
consciousness returns. Dreams, therefore, may 
be generally considered as resulting from some 
uncontrolled or morbid action of the brain ; and 
this action may be either primary, and attach- 
ing immediately to that organ ; or secondary 
and sympathetic, arising from the irritation of a 
distant organ in communion with the brain. 

This position is confirmed by the dreams of 
animals. It will not be contended that their 
dreams result from spiritual agency ; yet we 
know that they do dream — as in the familiar 
instance of dogs— and that they will perform in 
consequence some of their peculiar functions, 
as barking, and various other automatic ex- 
pressions of joy or sorrow. It is also known, 
that this disposition to disturbed sleep will be 



CHAPTER VII. 161 

promoted by any cause which has powerfully 
excited their brain ; whether this may have 
been exercise or disease. 

We may trace in these circumstances the 
rationale of our own dreams — namely, that they 
arise from the brain's spontaneous action, when 
under the influence of excitement or irritation, 
either from its own peculiar morbid state, or 
from that of some one of its associated organs. 

We shall also probably find, that the great 
variety of dreams may be accounted for on the 
principle of the kind of disturbance to which the 
brain may be subjected from this primary or 
secondary irritation : and it is further manifest, 
that in the latter case the kind and degree of 
excitement may vary, not only according to the 
organ which forms the first source of irri- 
tation, but also according to the nature and 
extent of its morbid actions, and to their 
special affinities with the nervous system ; 
thus forming a groundwork capable of constant 
change, and of almost infinite variety. 



M 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The same subject continued. — Definition of dreams; — no 
dreams in natural sleep ; — dreaming independent of the 
intellectual faculties; — proximate cause of dreaming; — 
exciting causes ; — imperfect sleep ; — irritation of the brain ; 
— dreams of disease ; — their endless variety, and organic 
classification. — Dreams of insanity. — Distinction of dreams 
arising from primary or secondary irritation of the brain ; 
— recollected impressions ; — accidental associations. 

Dreams may be defined to be trains of ideas 
and images confusedly heaped together during 
sleep, and resulting from irritation of the brain ; 
that irritation admitting of many modifications, 
according to its peculiar condition — according 
to the endless variations of the general health 
— and according to the nature of any uneasi- 
ness, excess, or defect^ in any one organ of the 
body, arising to such a height, or continuing so 
long, as to produce sympathetic disturbance of 
the nervous system. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



163 



It is to be remarked that there are no dreams 
in natural sleep — that is, in sound and quiet 
sleep — the body being healthy, and the mind at 
ease ; but if the brain shall have been irritated 
by deep mental emotion, intense or protracted 
study^ the commencement of impending fever, 
or the existence of any morbid action in the 
system, then dreams will be produced ; will be 
generally traced to some disordered function ; 
and will often appear among the first phenomena 
of disease. 

Now it is to be recollected, that in sleep the 
intellectual faculties are suspended, so far as 
regards the manifestation of their action ; and 
therefore they do not enter into the component 
phenomena of dreaming. For, however some 
dreams may appear to be almost rational and 
consecutive, it will be always found that they 
want at least one link to constitute them perfect 
mental operations ; there is a something wTong 
— a want of cohesion in the causes and conse- 
quences ; an absence of truth, which (however 
vraisemblable they may occasionally seem) des- 
troys their title to credence, and stamps them 
with the character of deviation from correct 
thinking. Thus, there is no accurate percep- 
tion of the bearing of associated circumstances ; 

m2 



164 ^SSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

there is no attention to first principles ; there is 
no proper memory — for, however the repro- 
duction of formerly associated images may 
seem to resemble memory, it will be found that 
it is always the automatic calling up of impres- 
sions which have been previously made upon 
the sensorial organ: — there is no intellectual 
association ; there is no judgment^ which pre- 
supposes comparison, and a regular adjustment 
of the claims of imagination : in fine, there is 
no exercise of the will ; a proof of which is to 
be found in the great difficulty with which the 
patient arises from the uneasy slumber of night- 
mare. 

However, therefore, the intellectual faculties 
may seem to be occasionally associated with 
dreams, it will always be found that this sem- 
blance of action is only the automatic production 
of the brain, from impressions which have been 
previously made upon it, as the organ of mental 
manifestation; consequently, that the apparently 
intellectual trains are merely organic associations. 
And it is well that they are so : for, on the 
contrary supposition, we should have great rea- 
son to blush for them ; and there would be at 
least one spot, and that the brightest in the uni- 
verse, where we should fail to trace the footsteps 



CHAPTER VIII. 165 

of that Almighty Architect, who has created all 
things in wisdom. 

It may be said, that these dreams are the 
result of sin, which, having entered into the 
world, pervades its remotest boundary, and 
more especially the heart of man, and all its 
thoughts and actions ; and that dreams are 
sleeping thoughts characterized by this fatal 
influence. And this is true, but not in the 
sense of the objector. For, as it has been 
shown that the intellectual faculties are not 
dii^ectly implicated in dreaming, and as there is 
no exercise of the will, there can be no respon- 
sibility ; consequently no infraction of the Di- 
vine law. But the organ of the mind has suf- 
fered, in common with the whole man, from the 
perverting influence of the fall ; its manifest- 
ations have become disordered, and dreaming 
is one of its diseases. Hence, though man is 
not responsible for his dreams, he is awfully so 
for any course of conduct, any trains of thought, 
any indulgence of unhallowed passion, which 
may afl'ord painful, though automatic associa- 
tions, for an irritated brain to revive. 

Still further : during sleep the senses are not 
capable of receiving their customary impres- 
sions, or of exerting their regular influence in 
controlling the wanderings of the intellectual 



166 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

faculties ; but if sleep be disturbed, from any 
cause, then impressions made upon the senses 
will produce that irritation of their nerves 
which, when propagated to the brain, will 
form the basis of a dream, or of a succession 
of dreams; in which may be produced, accord- 
ing to circumstances of varied irritation, and not 
according to any principle of choice or selection, a 
multitude of ideas, thoughts, opinions, habits, 
and associations, which have been acquired by 
individual intelligence, or which have been 
wrought out of knowledge so obtained by the 
agency of the spiritual principle, and which 
during such process exerted a certain influence 
upon the intellectual organ. 

This influence may be re- excited by organic 
impressions, and may give the semblance of 
the immaterial mind being engaged in the pur- 
suit. But it will be found that these trains 
may be called up to an extent, and with a 
degree of association, which it is impossible to 
restrain within defined limits : they are often 
incomplete ; they may be grotesquely grouped; 
they may be true or false ; they may be utterly 
incoherent ; they are generally extravagant, 
and exceed all the ordinary bounds of cre- 
dibility. If, then, these manifestations were 
referred to a continued action of the immaterial 



CHAPTER VIII. 1 67 

spirit, independently of external impressions, 
it will follow that the soul, when unassisted by these 
external material assistances, thought most in- 
correctly — that is, that its actions were more 
pure and perfect now, when confined within 
its material tenement, than when disencumber- 
ed of mortality — which is an absurd result. 
But, on the contrary, when the process of 
dreaming is referred to a continued action of 
the brain, having, during sleep, escaped the 
control of the immaterial principle, all is har- 
mony and beauty, and the Creator's laws stand 
vindicated from the charge of unreasonableness. 
Again : the impression of uneasiness, re- 
ceived by the sensorial organ during the day, 
will often form the germ of a dream during the 
night ; and many bodily uneasinesses will arise 
during that period, which will produce a simi- 
lar effect : these impressions cannot be es- 
timated, or compared, or referred to their true 
cause, because reason and judgment being 
suspended, erroneous perceptions are occasion- 
ed; and these may possibly produce consecu- 
tive trains of association. These associations 
are generally of the wildest character ; and 
thus afford another proof that organic irritation, 
not mental operation, is the proximate cause of 
dreajnino'. - 



168 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

A great variety of circumstances will operate 
as ea^citmg causes of dreaming : an uneasy po- 
sition, and the automatic act of turning to re- 
lieve it ; the sensation of cold, and the associ- 
ated action of covering ourselves with bed- 
clothes ; or of heat^ with the consequent effort 
to dismiss all our coverings ; the influence of 
habit — as in the act of instinctively answering 
to a knock at our door in the morning ; passing 
through a long dream produced by this impres- 
sion, and then continuing to sleep on, still pur- 
suing during that sleep the associated trains 
which had been awakened by the first sensorial 
impressions, and had been then thrown to- 
gether in the most dire and unextricable con- 
fusion. 

Moreover, the influence of opium, or hyoscia- 
mus, belladonna, or aconite, or any other simi- 
lar narcotic; much previous fatigue ; continued 
mental emotion of whatever character ; long- 
sustained study ; general febrile indisposition ; 
congestion of the brain ; any point of local irri- 
tation, according to the intimacy of its union, 
or nearness of connexion with the brain; and 
many other causes, might be mentioned. 

Yet it will be seen, that all these causes 
agree in one particular mode of action — name- 
ly, that of producing a peculiar excitement in 



CHAPTER Vlll. 169 

the cerebral organ, which forms the point of 
disturbance to the nervous system. And it 
will be further seen, that this peculiar disturb- 
ance is not always of one kind, nor the same 
in degree, but that it varies with circumstances; 
and that, therefore, differing results may be 
expected ; not only as the brain may be stimu- 
lated many degrees more or less than the 
standard of health ; but as such mode of 
stimulation may be possessed of a particular 
character, which will communicate its tinge 
to the consequent images. 

In approaching and imperfect sleep^ when 
any one of these irritants exists, it is very usual 
for unreal images to present themselves to 
notice : figures exhibiting the most grotesque 
and even horrible grimaces; and forms the 
most undefined, or possessing the nearest pos- 
sible resemblance to some living person, or to 
those long since gone ; as well as fugitive con- 
figurations of difi^erent associated objects, arise^ 
fade, and pass away ; leaving behind them^ on 
some favourably constituted brains, an impres- 
sion so vivid, that it bears the semblance of 
truth, and the mind cannot be persuaded to the 
contrary; nay, so strong is this belief, that 
any effort to undermine its foundation would 
produce a recoil in favour of what is most 



170 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

assuredly believed to be true. Thus, then, it 
will be seen, that any impression made upon 
the sensorial organ, which is insufficient to 
interrupt the process of sleep, may occasion 
dreaming. 

This state is further elucidated by the con- 
dition of the mildly insane. A little consider- 
ation will show that the perfect integrity of 
the brain is necessary to the manifestation of 
thought; so, consequently, wherever there ex- 
ists any alteration of brainular function, the 
slightest increased disorder will produce amaz- 
ing changes in the intelligence of such a pa- 
tient ; who, while he preserves the exercise of 
his senses, and even of some of his intellectual 
faculties, will nevertheless reason most incor- 
rectly upon all, or upon some, or only one sub- 
ject, and will associate the most monstrous 
and incoherent images. Here, then, is a proof 
of the influence exerted over the mental mani- 
festations by slight irritation of the organ; 
much more is this influence exerted during 
sleep. 

But, again, a very frequent cause of dream- 
ing is a more extensive irritation of the brain, 
experienced by this organ, either primarily, 
during the approach or development of its own 
diseases ; or consecutively, on the invasion of 



CHAPTER VIII. 171 

disorder of other organs with which it is as- 
sociated^ and even varied according to the 
particular relation of these organs and their 
functions : so that dreams will derive their 
character from whatever disturbance may hap- 
pen to form the first link in the chain of mor- 
bid sympathy or association, or from whatever 
organ may, from its peculiar feebleness, become 
the prominent object of attention in the pro- 
gress of malady. 

Further: the dreams of disease will also 
present a great variety, according to the nature, 
the duration, the period, the simplicity, or the 
complication of the morbid action which pro- 
duces them ; and according to the physical 
temperament, habits, and idiosyncracies of the 
individual. In this short sentence will be found 
a sufficient explanation of the endless varieties 
of dreaming. It has been supposed that dreams 
may possess a peculiar character, from the ex- 
istence of simple febrile action ; but it is more 
philosophical, as well as more consonant with 
truth, to believe that fever always has a local 
origin, and that the peculiarities of febrile 
dreams are to be sought for in the particular 
organ which forms the cause of constitutional 
irritation. 

But the division adopted in this Essay, of 



172 ESSAY ON SL'PERSTITION'. 

dreams arising from a greater or less degree of 
morbid disposition on the part of the brain 
itself, or of its consecutive irritation from the 
suffering of some other organ of the body, is 
sufficient for the present purpose. The time 
will probably arrive, when it will be possible to 
classify dreams, and when, from being referred 
to their organic cause, they will become symp- 
toms which will greatly assist the diagnosis of 
disease: but at present this is impossible ; our 
knowledge is too limited, our observations too 
few^ to warrant any thing like generalization. 
This, however, we do know, that there are some 
forms of organic irritation so slight, that during 
our waking hours, and from attention to other 
things, they are not noticed ; yet they are suffi- 
cient to disturb sleep, and to occasion dreaming. 
Often, indeed, in the early stage of malady, 
will this form the exclusive indication of dis- 
ease ; and the intensity and aggravation of 
dreams will mark the progress of such a dis- 
turbed state, while their gradually increasing 
mildness will equally proclaim the return of 
convalescence. 

Again : the relation subsisting between 
dreams and their organic cause, will show that 
certain apparent illusions, which occur during 
the act of dreaming, were really true in their 



CHAPTER VUI. 173 

germ, although they may have ultimately become 
the exaggerated or sophisticated expression of 
a real sensation. 

Dreams will be sometimes characterized by 
the state of the brain during the incubation of 
disease, and before it has actually made its ma- 
nifest attack — as in apoplexy, epilepsy, nervous 
fever, typhus, &c. I have lately had an oppor- 
tunity of witnessing, and of watching very nar- 
rowly, the dreams of the latter state, and the 
complete and perfect illusions to which they 
give rise, as well as the firmness of belief with 
which they are connected ; as perfect, certainly, 
as that of any superstitious individual, whose 
path has been crossed, or whose pillow has been 
haunted by some supernatural appearance. 

We must not omit to mention in this place 
the dreams of insanity, which are sometimes 
most extraordinary. Moreover, the peculiar 
state of the brain, producing this morbid condi- 
tion of its manifestations, may be suspended dur- 
ing the day, and may be again renewed at night, 
so soon as the organ of the mind has lost the 
opportunity of verifying its impressions through 
the medium of the senses. This state of insa- 
nity may be transient; it may be only momen- 
tary ; and yet its delusion at that moment may 



174 ESSAY OX SUPERSTITIOX. 

be so complete as to lead the patient to com- 
mit the greatest crimes (if criminality could at- 
tach to insanity), not only without remorse, but 
even glorying in the illusion which has led 
perhaps to a fatal catastrophe. 

There is a manifest difference between dreams 
which arise either from primary or secondary 
irritation of the brain : and even in the former 
case, between those which are the consequence 
of irritation arising from venous congestion, or 
from an increased supply of arterial blood. In 
the case of secondary irritation, it is probable 
that a modification of brainular action will oc- 
cur (we might have said^ it actually does hap- 
pen) in exact correspondence with that of the 
organ which forms the primary source. of irrita- 
tion, and with its peculiar mode of morbid ac- 
tion ; so that the process of dreaming will be 
characterized by this extensive variety of ner- 
vous impression — an impression still further 
modified by the peculiarities of its messengers ; 
that is, of the nerves which convey these notices 
to the brain. 

^yhen primary irritation of this viscus is the 
cause of this diseased manifestation, if there be 
too great arterial action, sleep will be light, 
easily disturbed^ and approaching more nearly to 



CHAPTER VIIT. 175 

the waking state ; the patient is highly nervous ; 
in a most sensitive and susceptible state ; every 
impression is felt with an undue impulse ; and 
hurried action, increased intensity of feeling, 
great rapidity in the succession of ideas and 
emotions, the sanguine vivacity of hope and 
cheerful expectation, and the great ease with 
which every difficulty is surmounted, wall form 
the essential character of the dreams : because 
the brain is unduly excited ; it receives a larger 
supply of its natural stimulus than it ought to 
do, or than it knows how to dispose of : and 
then, when sleep invades the patient, his brain 
is set at liberty from physical and moral re- 
straint ; and it operates largely, without effort 
or design, but chiefly through ideas and impres- 
sions already associated, and yet connected in 
a manner so extraordinary, that we cannot even 
trace their cohesion or affinity. 

In the opposite state, where congestion forms 
the chief symptom of brainular malady, sleep 
is profound, even heavy and oppressed. In this 
condition dreaming may occur^ without produc- 
ing a consciousness of such action ; or, if the 
congested state be only slight, and the pro- 
foundness of sleep not unnatural, the associated 
images will have the semblance of great truth 
about them. There w411 be a character of 



176 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

reality attaching to dreams under these circum- 
stances, which may leave an impression upon 
the waking hours not easily dissipated -, and the 
associated impressions and emotions will ob- 
tain an equal freedom and extent of operation, 
and yet will seem to possess a greater degree of 
cohesion, or, at least, will exhibit a family re- 
semblance. 

These states may vary in a very short period, 
from change of posture, and various other cir- 
cumstances ; they may distinctly alternate ; or 
they may run into each other, so as to lose 
their defined outline : and these changes may 
happen during the course of one dream ; an 
event which, connected with the different de- 
grees of profundity of sleep, will go far to ac- 
count for the greater or less obvious attribute of 
rationality which occasionally seems to attend 
upon one dream ; and also for the frequent in- 
terruption of the first action of a dream by ano- 
ther associated impression, which interferes 
with the harmony of the former action, and 
brings disorder and confusion into the whole 
process. Let it be remembered, that truth does 
occasionally attend these perceptions ; but this 
is not often to be expected, and ought never to 
be calculated for, much less to be relied upon. 

Further : it must be evident how much the 



CHAPTER VIII. 177 

morbid state of brainular action, which may be 
considered as accidental, must be influenced by 
the original conformation of the brain, and by 
various circumstances, both physical and moral, 
which have contributed to develop or to retard 
its manifestations ; by habitual susceptibility 
to impression ; by the amount of its literary 
labours ; by the degree and kind of intelligence 
for which the individual is remarkable ; by the 
efl'ects of the light and shade of his intellec- 
tual and moral acquisitions ; by the period of 
life, and situation in society ; by the sex, and 
the associated plans of suitable intellectual and 
literary pursuit; by the frivolities of fashion 
and folly, or the varied plans of usefulness ; by 
the prominent modes of thought, and action, 
and passion ; by the influence of physical tem- 
perament ; by the kind of life which has been 
previously led, or which is now resolved to be 
led ; and by a host of apparently accidental cir- 
cumstances in the manner of living, and think- 
ing, and expression. 

Now it will be seen that all these circum- 
stances operate a certain eflect upon the organ 
through which the mental manifestations occur; 
and it is this efl'ect which afterwards commu- 
nicates its character to the dreaming state. 
And again,^ the slightest deviation from health 

N 



178 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

may so modify the disposition of the cerebral 
organ, as to change its mental manifestations ; 
and this real or apparent difference will be fal- 
lowed by a corresponding real or apparent dif- 
ference in the intellectual aptitudes and moral 
feeling of the individual ; and this again may 
disturb the sleep, occasion dreaming, and cha- 
racterize its images. 

This effect of indisposition upon the mental 
manifestations we often experience when awake ; 
and inaptitude for intellectual exertion, a want 
of interest in spiritual objects and pursuits, and 
irritability of temper, form portions of that trial 
which awaits us here below, and exercises our 
industry, our dependance upon Almighty aid, 
our faith and hope and confidence, our strug- 
gling against that which is evil, and our deter- 
mination, in the strength of the Lord our God, 
to be victorious over that imperfection and 
frailty which cling to our fallen nature, and 
which we are constantly called upon to oppose 
with effort, with watchfulness, with prayer, 
with the shield of faith, and the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the word of God. But during 
sleep we are unable to oppose the influence of 
body upon mind, because the combination of 
ideas is involuntary, and becomes, in its turn, a 
stimulus to the brain to enter into new associa- 



CHAPTER VTH. 179 

tions, and to give a great variety of character 
to the dreams. 

Dreams which are depending for their origin 
upon these states, will probably be characterized 
by moral or intellectual agency, unless the brain 
shall have been so far disturbed by its early im- 
pressions as to lose the distinctive character of 
the first, in the subsequently associated organic 
actions ; and this will depend very much upon 
the state of the bodily system at the time. In 
all these instances, however, we find, that, in 
order to the production of dreaming, brainular 
action must be dissociated from the will ; and 
then, being submitted to its own agency, or to 
the impulse it has received from organic causes, 
these phenomena occur. 

One other source of dreaming will be found 
in the recollected impressions of the preced- 
ing day, or of some antecedent period. It will 
often happen, that the dream may be traced to 
some thought or action which has occupied the 
attention during the day, and which will be re- 
produced at night in dreams, grotesquely asso- 
ciated with other persons and things ; and, if 
the sleep be light, with an air of vraisemblance 
which makes the patient really doubt if it be a 
dream or a truth. The last impression of the 
evening will often be revived and carried on ; 

N 2 



180 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

and at other times a long-lost emotion will be 
recalled by an action which we cannot compre- 
hend, but which depends upon some law of na- 
ture, by which impressions once made upon the 
brain may ever afterwards be revived by its own 
agency, spontaneously, and without any kind of 
effort. Yet here^ again, brainular impression 
must precede. 

Lastly ; accidental association will characterize 
the dreams : such, for instance, are dreams of 
hunger and thirst. '' It shall be even as when 
a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; 
but he awaketh, and his soul is empty : or as 
when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he 
drinketh ; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is 
faint, and his soul hath appetite." 



CHAPTER IX. 

The same subject continued. — Somnambulism. — Second 
sight. — Animal magnetism. — Influence of imagination, and 
of superstitious credence. — Is there any truth in popular 
superstitions ? 

In continuing the history of dreams, and other 
analogous brainular manifestations, we may 
not omit some notice of the phenomena of 
somnambulism. 

The common form of somnambulism, must be 
considered as a kind of dream, happening 
during profound sleep, in which some actions, 
intimately associated in the waking state, and 
rendered easy, and almost automatic, by long 
continued habit, are reproduced in sleep with- 
out apparent volition ; and these actions corres- 
pond with the ideas, feelings, and emotions, 
the succession and combination of which, form 
the intellectual and mental fabric of the dream. 



182 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Possibly the alleged faculty of second sight, 
so far as it is not a mere jugglery of the de- 
signing, may be referred to a species of som- 
nambulism, in which the mental manifestations 
confer with themselves, and produce a pros- 
pective result, which has been termed second 
sight. If this mental manifestation be not 
referred to a cerebi^alon^in, there is no alterna- 
tive but that of either denying its existence 
altogether, or investing it with the attributes of 
prophecy, and admitting it as the result of 
inspiration; — this inspiration being either a 
spiritual communication from the most high 
God, or a suggestion of the evil one. All these 
alternatives are unsatisfactory. To deny its 
existence altogether, seems impossible; to 
place it on a level with Revelation, derogates 
from the high and holy character of prophecy ; 
and to ascribe it to Satanic agency, is to allow 
Satan a greater sway over the government 
of the universe than is consistent with our 
views of the pov/er, and knowledge, and good- 
ness, of the omnipotent Jehovah. 

But if we consider it as an affair of the brain, 
occurring principally in advanced life, and 
when that organ is manifestly suffering under 
excited action ; and, what is very important to 
be remembered, both the seer and his auditors 



CHAPTER IX. 183 

fully believing from their infancy the occurrence 
of such manifestations, and prepared implicitly 
to receive them ; we are enabled to class it at 
once v^ith other phenomena which result from 
analogous stages of excitement, when the brain 
has escaped from the influence of the will and 
the judgment, and continues its morbid func- 
tion without guidance or direction. 

The common examples of cunning men and 
women, the practice of fortune-telling, and the 
science of astrology and divination, must be re- 
ferred to the class of impostures ; and, as such, 
are scarcely entitled to consideration among 
the legitimate offspring of superstition. And 
3"et their influence upon many minds is exten- 
sive, and even frightful : and the best antidote 
is to be found in the principle of quiet confi- 
dence in that superintending Providence, with- 
out whose knowledge not even a sparrow falls 
to the ground, by whom even the hairs of our 
head are all numbered, and in whose hands are 
the hearts of all men. True, there is much evil 
in the world, much apparent wrong, much 
injustice, oppression, and misery, which, to 
short-sighted mortality, appear inconsistent 
with this universal prevalence of goodness and 
justice. But shall man be more just than his 
Maker ? God is not the author of any evil : 



184 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

man is a free agent, and, as such, in following 
the dictates of his corrupt nature, is often per- 
mitted (not employed) to bring about the wise 
and good designs of the Almighty; but these 
attributes of wisdom and goodness are not 
determined, by what isolated and purblind mor- 
tality can see, but by that omniscient eye 
which takes in creation at a glance, and em- 
braces eternity in the view of an instant. 

To return : There are on record some extra- 
ordinary relations of the endless wonders of 
somnambulism : during which state have oc- 
curred certain mental actions, which it is diffi- 
cult to disbelieve, and not easy to account for, 
unless by referring them to a peculiar excite- 
ment of the brain, under the influence of some 
powerful intellectual stimulus ; or to a morbid 
agency, under the impression of its own dis- 
eases ; or to the sympathetic disturbance of 
some other suffering organ. 

There are many different degrees of som- 
nambulism : as, for instance, the case of those 
who simply talk in their sleep ; of those who 
move and walk, but do not talk; of those who 
both walk and talk ; and of those who speak, 
move, and likewise experience some sensations, 
and even recollected impressions, of various 
kinds ; who are also sensible to alternations of 



CHAPTER IX. 185 

temperature, and to other circumstances con- 
nected with their general state. 

Now these several conditions possess a well- 
defined analogy with instinctive action : the 
operations of the somnambulist are performed 
without the concurrence of the will, and by the 
sole influence of their association with a certain 
train of ideas and images, to which, by long 
habit, they have been inseparably connected. 
But habit is a cerebral impression, and therefore 
a peculiar state of the brain will account for 
these phenomena. 

The only known fact which V70\x\di seeyn to mili- 
tate against this conclusion, is the history of a 
German student, who rose in the night, during 
profound sleep, seated himself at his desk, 
began composing, and, having written a word 
which he did not approve, blotted it out, and 
substituted another which was more appro- 
priate. Now if this narration be true, and it 
appears to rest on a sufficiently authentic founda- 
tion, it must be confessed to be one of the most 
extraordinary instances of somnambulism, and 
to involve the semblance of an exercise of the 
judgment, and of the will, grounded upon its 
decision. But when it is recollected, that, 
according to the history, the eye was during all 
this time perfectly closed, it is clear that one 



186 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

essential part of the process is wanting : it is 
impossible that the writer could have seen the 
term so altered, and therefore there could not 
have been an exercise of the perfect will; while, 
on the contrary, long familiarity with the sub- 
ject on which he was engaged in writing, and 
on which, probably, his last waking thoughts 
had been employed ; and the automatic conti- 
nuance of the same brainular action, after the 
influence of the will had been suspended by 
sleep, will still bring us to that physical influ- 
ence of habit, to which we have just before 
referred the more common actions of somnam- 
bulism. I may add two instances which have 
occurred within my own observation ; in the 
former of which, an individual arose from his 
bed, and hunted over a large box of papers, 
apparently in quest of a particular document, 
but, not finding it, replaced the other deeds, 
and returned to bed : and of another, who, 
having forgotten his usual duty of winding up 
the clock on Saturday night, rose from his bed 
during sleep, went down stairs, peformed the 
customary duty, and returned. Habit alone and 
habitual association can account for these cir- 
cumstances. 

But we must notice a little, in this place, 
the phenomena of animal magnetism; a state 



CHAPTER IX. 187 

nearly allied to somnambulism, and very im- 
portant in the present inquiry. No question, 
perhaps, of late years, has been met with more 
positive and obstinate opposition on the one 
hand, or with a greater degree of enthusiastic 
admiration on the other ; unanimously rejected 
by the former, and revived with as full a belief 
in all its consequences by the latter. Yet it 
would seem impossible to deny the facts which 
are alleged, and equally impossible to account 
for them, except by granting them a 'physical 
origin. 

But the effects produced are similar to those for 
which a spiritual and supernatural agency has 
been asked; and if it be granted in the one in- 
stance, it cannot be withheld in the other. In 
the phenomena of animal magnetism, as they 
are capable of being produced by the concur- 
rence of the magnetizer and magnetized, there 
happens an opportunity of witnessing the 
operation ; and sine e this can be referred en- 
tirely to physical circumstances, there is no- 
thing unreasonable in claiming a similar organ 
for other analogous phenomena. 

It is then to be remarked, that the magnetic 
paroxysm is most easily produced upon a brain 
which is in an irritable and excited state ; that 
the concurrence of the two individuals (the 



188 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

agent and recipient of magnetic influence) in 
the same object, and the full determination of 
their will towards its accomplishment, appear 
to be necessary to success ; and, moreover, 
that, for the most part, certain actions of the 
hands seem to be necessary, or at least useful 
in making a deep impression upon the nervous 
system. Besides, the phenomena which pre- 
cede the magnetic orgasm are all indicative of 
a highly excited and disturbed action of the 
brain ; and it is only after the continuance and 
increase of these symptoms for some time, that 
the fully-formed magnetic somnambulism is 
produced. 

It may not be easy to find a method of ex- 
dlaining all the phenomena of this state; but 
admitting their existence, it is manifest that 
they are purely physical, resulting from the opera- 
tion of hrain upon hrain^ when placed within 
the sphere of a certain relation to each other : 
phenomena, for example, somewhat analogous 
to the development of electricity by the friction 
of a stick of sealing wax ; or of the galvanic 
aura, by the union of two metallic bodies under 
given circumstances. The precise mode of ex- 
plaining this state is not at all necessary to my 
purpose : it is sufficient, if the phenomena may 
be fairly traced to a purely cerebral origin ; to 



CHAPTER IX. 189 

a physical, not a spiritual agency: and if the 
result be such a disorder in the mental mani- 
festations as shall terminate in the creation of 
unreal forms and images, and in the exhibition 
of unwonted power on the part of some of the 
intellectual faculties. 

It is not pretended that a powerful impres- 
sion upon the mind will not greatly aid the 
effect ; because this latter agent produces that 
physical susceptibility of the brain, which we 
have supposed to be almost a necessary con- 
dition of successful magnetic operation ; but 
which cannot be obtained, without the inters 
vention of the material organ. Only let it be 
remembered, that during this state, there ap- 
pears, on the part of the magnetized, an alleged 
power of predicting certain events ; a certain 
impression of futurity, very analogous to the pre- 
sentiments of our neighbours — the " coming 
events" which ** cast their shadows before," 
of the Highland seer ; so that probably both 
states may depend upon some similar condition 
of the brainular system. 

We may not altogether omit some specific 
notice of the influence of imaghiation, in oc- 
casioning a state of the brain favourable for 
the production of such mental manifestations. 
Its agency .has been already pointed out in the 



190 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

hypochondriac ; and it is no less cognizable in 
the hysterical state, as well as in other dis- 
orders of the function of the brain. In this 
latter case^ the patient is abstracted from the 
influence of reason and judgment ; his fancy 
becomes omnipotent, and the deepening gloom 
of melancholy is very commonly thrown over 
all the prospects of futurity, attended by all 
the undefined creations of fear. 

Not many months since, I visited a patient 
of this class. I found her one day in a state 
of unusual agitation, and I inquired the cause : 
she told me, that as she had been sitting in 
her chair, she had seen a snake coiled under 
her feet: she had screamed aloud upon this 
discovery, and the agitation which I witnessed 
was the result ; for although, as it is perhaps 
needless to say, her attendants were unable 
to discover the alleged intruder, yet the im- 
pression made upon her nervous system was 
so great, that she had been unable to recover 
herself from a shock, produced not only with- 
out any real object of fear, but simply through 
the medium of imagination, which conjured up 
this creation, at a period of the year too when 
snakes are not seen. But if disorders of the 
bodily health will produce such a morbid ac- 
tion of the brain, as that it should assuredly. 



CHAPTER IX. 191 

and upon the fullest conviction, discover a 
snake where none existed, it surely is not too 
much to require, that a similar physical in- 
fluence may give rise to other unreal and su- 
pernatural appearances ; and may produce that 
state of brain in which it will see its own crea- 
tions, and believe them to be real existences ; 
that state, in fact, which shall develop the be- 
lief in apparitions. 

This article of popular creed (the belief in 
spectres and ghosts), and its consequences, — 
imaginary terror and superstitious agitation 
before going to bed, — are of themselves a fre- 
quent cause of dreaming ; for the susceptibility 
of the brain to continue its evening action 
during the night, and to take up its last waking 
impression, and to revive it with adventitious 
and fantastic circumstances of its own group- 
ing, has been already demonstrated : added to 
which, an irritable state of that organ has been 
oftentimes induced by the excitement of listen- 
ing to tales of this kind, — an excitement, too, 
of rather an intense character, and accompanied, 
in proportion to its intensity and continuance, 
by that exhaustion which leaves behind it a 
constantly decreasing power of supporting what 
is in fact a '' fever of the spirits," and there- 



192 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

fore a greater susceptibility to morbid action 
of every kind. 

Again : — another of its laws, that of habit, 
would be brought to bear powerfully upon this 
point; and by its influence, the brain would 
be more liable to fall into analogous strains of 
thought and feeling : and, moreover, this very 
excitement and expenditure of energy, does 
actually give rise to that commencement of 
morbid action which constitutes the precise 
state of peculiar adaptation to erroneous and 
spectral impression, the existence of which has 
been already assumed. 

If any person question such a state of the 
cerebral organ, only let him attend to a simple 
physiological fact : let him commit to memory 
imperfectly, a certain piece of poetry or prose 
in the evening of to-day, and in the morning of 
to-morrow its recollected impression will be far 
more perfect than its first conception the night 
before ; and this, not because the energy of 
the brain has been accumulated, and its ca- 
pacity for acquisition augmented by rest, and 
that its faculties are freshened and invigorated: 
it is an effect which precedes the exertion of 
those faculties, and may be observed as the 
first waking act, and is accomplished without 



CHAPTER IX. 193 

effort ; doubtless because the organ of mind 
has been subjected to its organic physiological 
laws of continued though involuntary action 
during sleep ; of accumulated sensibility, be- 
cause this property is not strained off by the 
outlet of the waking senses ; and of extended 
habit, when freed from the shackles of social 
perversion. 

There is a species of dream, which consists 
in alleged visions during trances or prolonged 
slumbers ; but surely none can doubt the phy- 
sical origin of this form of cerebral hallucina- 
tion. It is a state very nearly allied to the 
highest degree of somnambulism ; and, where 
it has not been the offspring of imposture, or 
self-delusion, it has arisen from a peculiar mor- 
bid action of the brainular organ. 

It has been sometimes thought that an al- 
tered condition of the circulating fluids might 
account for these phenomena ; but the expla- 
nation is unnecessary, and unsatisfactory : and 
surely, if we observe a disturbed manifestation 
of mind, we ought to refer it to the manifesting 
organ. Besides, the individuals who have been 
the subjects of these visions, have been persons 
of highly nervous temperament ; in whom sus- 
ceptibility to impression predominated, — ge- 



194 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

nerally females, and such too as were predis- 
posed to hysterical affections. 

Another important circumstance to be re- 
marked in this place, is that these visions have 
generally been characterized by the predomi- 
nance of the particular temperament of each 
individual ; that is, by the prevalence of the 
essential attributes of his cerebral or nervous 
system ; and have assumed a sanguine or a me- 
lancholic character accordingly. 

This effect is also frequently to be referred 
to momentary insanity, and to the delusion by 
which it is accompanied. So powerful is the 
latter, that it remains even after the patient has 
been restored to a sound employment of the in- 
tellectual organ ; and he relates in simple and 
sober earnestness, what he thinks he has said, or 
seen, or done, during such temporary disorder 
of the function of the brain, and most firmly 
believes in its truth ; a sufficient proof, were 
there no other, that a morbid condition of the 
brain may give rise to unreal images, and that 
their influence upon the manifestations of mind 
may be very extensive. 

In the present state of our knowledge, we 
are not prepared to say wherein consists the 
peculiar irritation of the brain which occa- 



CHAPTER IX. 195 

sions this state : it is one of the many truths of 
which we cannot as yet fathom the rationale. 
In fact, we are not at all acquainted with the 
nature of the function of the brain ; that is, we 
know not how it is performed ; and therefore we 
cannot presume to be well informed of its de- 
viations from healthful agency ; we can only 
trace its effects, and reason back from these to 
their cause. 

Poor human nature! what a lesson of hu- 
mility is inculcated by the simple fact of its 
ignorance, even of the first principles which 
govern, or at least greatly influence its own 
actions! What infinite wisdom and goodness 
are displayed in the creation and preservation 
of such a wonderful structure as the brain! 
How are the malignity of sin, and the depth of 
our fall from original perfection, shown by the 
limited powers and frequent morbid actions of 
that viscus ! And what infinite condescension 
and grace are exhibited in the fact, that for this 
poor, sinful, ignorant, and wandering creature, 
man, Christ died, and, having become his ran- 
som, has promised, if he will accept the offers 
of his grace, to restore him to the image of God, 
and to the full exercise of every power and 
faculty, in realms of unfading joy. 

To return from these digressive remarks, it is 

o 2 



196 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

a fact, that, however ignorant we may be of 
the nature of the brain's function, we know it 
as extensively as we do that of any other func- 
tion of the body ; as, for instance, the process 
of secretion, of which, we only understand that 
it takes place under the influence of the brain, 
and that it is suspended when that influence is 
withdrawn : but in what that influence consists, 
how it is communicated, and in what way it ex- 
cites the particular organ to its function, we 
know not. Yet we are aware that the integrity 
of this secretion is aff'ected by every morbid 
cause, disturbing the quiet calm of the secret- 
ing organ, and that it is more or less vitiated 
by every such disturbance. But if the simpler 
actions of the brain, in viinisteinng to the process of 
seci^etion, be interrupted by organic irritation ; may 
not its more complex office, of manifesting the 
powers and attainments of the mind, be likewise sub- 
jected to similar laws? 

Before we proceed farther, we might ask,, Is 
there any truth in popular superstitions; or 
do they all rest on the basis of an enthusiastic 
belief in the actual existence of spectral illu- 
sions^ which can only be accounted for satisfac- 
torily by attributing to them a cerebral and 
bodily origin ? It is urged, that these all rest 
on the same foundation ; namely, human testi- 



CHAPTER IX. 



197 



mony ; and that he who ventures to doubt their 
positive being, is met by a host of overwhelming 
facts, in answer to his scepticism,— these facts 
forming the evidence of so many persons of 
assumed health of body, and integrity of brain- 
ular manifestation. That we venture to doubt 
this evidence, and to disbelieve this sanity of 
body and mind, may be perhaps our misfor- 
tune ; but it is our honest conviction, and, as 
such, we are bound to maintain what we be- 
lieve to be the truth. 

If then, all these histories rest on the same 
basis, and if it can be proved that any one of 
them is false and absurd, it will form a very 
strong presumption in favour of other similar 
relations being equally false and absurd. 
Take, for example, the history of the fairies ; 
a little, busy people, whose good and evil of- 
fices are as well authenticated by substantial 
testimony as any similar stories. But where 
is there now to be found an individual who be- 
lieves in their existence ? Doubt is thrown 
upon the evidence in their favour : the value of 
human testimony is shaken ; and as it is not to 
be supposed that these histories have been en- 
tirely fabricated by the designing, it will follow 
that the parties have been self-deceived; and, if 
so, what is so likely to have occasioned such de- 



198 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

lusion as a peculiar state of irritation of the 
brain, giving 7ise to spectral appearances ? But 
we have supposed this cause to exist, with 
regard to other supernatural apparitions ; and 
the supposition is strengthened by referring to 
the acknowledged absurdity of one form of 
popular superstition. 

It may be objected that the evidence in fa- 
vour of dreams and other manifestations is de- 
rived from the same source as that on which 
rests our belief in the truths of our holy reli- 
gion. Now, that the Almighty Governor of the 
universe can employ, or overrule, if he so will, 
for the wisest purposes, any action of the sys- 
tem, natural or supernatural^ to accomplish his 
merciful intentions, is most fully and explicitly 
admitted ; and the evidence in proof that He 
has done so, rests on the most unquestioned 
foundation ; but then a particular purpose was 
to be accomplished ; a part of the great designs 
of love and mercy to fallen, sinful, helpless 
man. 

The answer to the objection is this : Direct 
communications from on high appear to have 
been limited to certain portions of the history 
of the church ; and the testimony of the Sacred 
Scriptures in favour of dreams, as containing a 
revelation of the will of God, may be equally 



CHAPTER IX. 199 

alleged in support of miracles, and prophecies, 
and special commissions from on high — nay 
more, of the gifts of tongues, and of inspiration 
itself. These several modes of spiritual inter- 
course with the Almighty were formerly vouch- 
safed ; but now we have the written word of 
God for our guide, containing all things neces- 
sary to salvation. The canon of Revelation is 
so complete, that a woe is denounced against 
those who would add to it; miracles are no 
longer necessary to prove the divine power 
and authority of Christ; the voice of prophecy, 
the extraordinary communication of language, 
and the gift of inspiration, have given way to 
the ordinary operations of Divine grace ; to 
the teaching of the Spirit, and faith, and 
prayer, and obedience, and communion with 
God in his ordinances, and in waiting upon him 
in humble desire to be led and guided into all 
truth. 

In the same class of extraordinary communi- 
cation, dreams and visions are to be ranged, 
which have equally ceased with the pecu- 
liarities of the ages to which we have referred. 
These are not to form the rule for our opinions 
at the present day ; miraculous interposition is 
no longer to be expected : the spirit of pro- 
phecy no longer actuates the ministers of God ; 



200 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

it has fled with the necessity for its employment. 
We have no longer any gifted Apostles with su- 
pernatural powers, in order to establish the di- 
vinity of their commission : the evangelists of 
the present day are those only who expound 
the word of God to perishing sinners ; and al- 
though the Bible and Missionary Societies, by 
their exertions, have almost imitated — not to 
speak it profanely — the gift of tongues ; yet 
we do not expect that their translators will 
proceed in their work, under the unerring in- 
fluence of the gift of the Spirit, without the la- 
bour of previous study, and careful translation, 
collation, and revision, again and again. We 
no longer expect these circumstances, which 
were for a given purpose, to proclaim the in- 
finite power and essential Divinity of the incar- 
nate Saviour, and to eff'ect the miraculous ex- 
tension of his kingdom. These have ceased 
with the apostolic age. 

Now in the same class of agents which the 
Supreme has deigned to employ, are dreams ; 
but we should no more expect that the Al- 
mighty would now employ the latter than the 
former. And since no one would at this day 
receive the commission of an Apostle ; but 
since every one would treat the assumption of 
such power with discredit, and would throw 



CHAPTER IX. 201 

the odium of imposture or insanity upon those 
who assumed to be sent on an especial message 
from God to his creatures, and who pretended 
to miraculous powers in support of their mes- 
sage ; so no one at this period of the Chris- 
tian day ought to appeal to d^^eams, as evi- 
dence of a communication from the Almighty 
Disposer of all things. 



CHAPTER X. 



The same subject continued. — Dreams commissioned for the 
discovery of crime ; — application of the author's principles 
to the history of W. Corder ; — agency of the Devil in the 
production of dreams and various errors : — vision of an- 
gels, &c. &c. 

There are some particular forms of dreaming, 
which should be just noticed in this place : 
and, first, that which we are often told has 
been commissioned for the discovery of crime. 
In these cases it is assumed, that crime — for 
the most part murder — has been for a time suc- 
cessfully concealed ; but that detection haunts 
the footsteps of the criminal : and that an im- 
pression of circumstances is revealed to some 
individual during sleep, which leads to the dis- 
closure of such a chain of evidence as may ter- 
minate in the conviction of the murderer. This 
train of reasoning proceeds upon the assump- 
tion, that God is a righteous Governor^ and 



CHAPTER X. 203 

will not suffer a murderer to live ; but that 
** whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall" actually, as well as injunctively, " his 
blood be shed." 

Now if it were true that the present is the 
final state of retribution, there would be good 
ground for this reasoning. But it is to be re- 
collected, that God is merciful as well as just ; 
and that, though he is angry with the wicked 
every day, he defers his wrath^ and delights to 
be long-suffering, and to extend the day of 
grace, the hour of returning to him to seek the 
pardon of sin : and when we reflect, that if 
God were strict to mark iniquity, — that is, if 
justice were his only attribute, — the infliction of 
punishment would follow the commission of 
sin, and that we could have no hope of accept- 
?nce with him, we see that this pursuit of the 
criminal is not a necessary consequence of this 
attribute : on the contrary, that in his dealings 
with his sinful creatures, he willeth not their 
death, but rather that they should turn unto him 
and live. 

Further, this is not the day of retribution, 
but of proffered pardon, if it will be accepted 
in Christ Jesus. Here on earth, we daily see 
crime successful, and virtue suffering ; the one 
caressed, the other in poverty, obscurity, and 



204 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

neglect; the one surrounded by friends and 
affluence, the other in indigence and desti- 
tution; the latter constantly suffering injustice 
from the oppression of the former. This is not 
the coming period, when the righteous shall be 
for ever blessed, and the wicked shall be for 
ever miserable. There is iiow an inequality in 
their lot, which will only be rendered right at 
the last great day of account; so that here 
again it is shown not to be inconsistent with 
the dealings of the providence of God, that the 
wicked should escape punishment in the pre- 
sent life. 

Moreover, this assumption proceeds upon 
an idea of the justice of the Almighty requiring 
the punishment by the hand of man, of certain 
very great offences. But then it has happened, 
and that not unfrequently, that the innocent 
have suffered ; that is, that they have been 
innocent of the particular crime for which they 
were executed : and this is another proof that 
errors are permitted here, and that we must 
cast our eye forward to hereafter, for the full 
display of the retributive justice of God. In 
fact, the circumstances of the innocent having 
suffered in the place of the guilty, while the 
latter have escaped, would, on any other sup- 
position, impugn the attribute of justice in 



CHAPTER X. 205 

Him who is perfect holiness. It is, therefore, 
unnecessary on account of his justice : and^ 
indeed, if it were necessary, it would always be 
discovered ; a supposition which we know to 
be contradicted by facts. 

But if this result be neither necessary nor 
constant, we may well question the validity of 
any pretended deviation from the ordinary 
course of God's providence, in order to its 
being obtained. And may not this dream- 
ing almost always, if not always, be ac- 
counted for on other principles less liable to 
objection ? 

We will exemplify the principle by applying 
it to one recent instance ; namely, the discovery 
of the murder of Maria Marten by William Cor- 
der : and this example is chosen only because 
it is of late occurrence, and that the principal 
facts still live in the memory of the public. It 
does not, indeed, appear, by the published evi- 
dence on the trial, that this discovery and con- 
viction did actually take place in consequence 
of a dream of her mother, Ann Marten ; but it 
was so stated by her at the coroner's inquest, 
and it is the popular opinion, and is therefore 
a proper subject for consideration. 

Now let it be remembered, that the Red 
Barn was the place in which her daughter was 
last seen in company with William Corder ; — 



206 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

let the long and anxious interval since she had 
heard from her be duly estimated ; let the 
equivocal and evasive answ^ers of Corder to her 
own, and the neighbours' inquiries, be taken 
into adequate consideration; let the continued 
irritation of the brain, which arose from the 
circumstances of suspense, misgiving, and 
anxiety, and which had necessarily brought 
that brain into a state of morbid susceptibility, 
that is, into the condition which has been al- 
leged as the proximate cause of dreaming, 
receive its due weight ; — above all, let the 
avowed observations of Corder to Phoebe 
Stow, that although Maria Marten was a young 
woman, '* she was not likely to be troubled 
w^ith any more children ;" and further, that /ze 
knew " when he was not with her, nobody else 
was/' be added to the preceding impressions; — 
let all these facts be duly estimated, and then 
let any reasonable mind say whether there be 
not sufficient natural and physical ground for 
the alleged supernatural interposition, through 
the medium of a dream ; in the anxious direc- 
tion of the waking thoughts, in the irritated 
brain which was the consequence of this anx- 
iety, and in the scattered facts just detailed, — 
which, if embodied by that organ, when acting 
on without the government of the will, and 
clothed with its ov/n involuntary imagery. 



CHAPTER X. 207 

would easily invest obscurity with an impres- 
sion of murder, and would localize that deed to 
the spot in which the absent individual was 
last seen with William Corder. There is surely 
no necessary ground for supernatural agency 
in such a history ; all is clearly and satisfac- 
torily accounted for on rational principles. 
Even allowing that the vengeance of the Al- 
mighty was thus pursuing the murderer, and 
suffering him not to live, the honour of God 
and the ways of his Providence are more com- 
pletely vindicated, when we see them brought 
about by the agency of natural causes, than by 
supposing a special interference with the es- 
tablished order of nature ; since, if we may 
admit the idea of comparison, as applied to an 
Infinite Being, that appears to be a greater ex- 
ertion of power and wisdom, which orders all 
the manifold events and circumstances of life, 
health, and disease, so as to bring about cer- 
tain designs, than when these designs are ac- 
complished by one supernatural visitation. 

Others attribute, much too vaguely, the sug- 
gestion of evil thoughts, the prompting to sin- 
ful conduct, and even the production of dreams, 
to the evil spirit. Now it is fully allowed, 
that, by the transgression of man, sin entered 
into the world, and death by sin ; and sin 



208 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

reigns in our mortal bodies. By this fall of 
man, he has become corrupt ; prone to ill ; 
averse from good ; delighting in that which is 
contrary to the law of God, and in rebellion 
against him. But Satanic influence is often 
alleged as a kind of excuse for sin. Man 
thinks himself half excused from his transgres- 
sion, when he says that he was tempted to sin; 
and really fancies that this temptation could 
not be resisted, except with extraordinary 
difficulty, because it arose from a very powerful 
adversary. 

St. Paul says, that *' when he would do 
good, evil was present with him;" and St. 
James most satisfactorily states, that ''every 
man is tempted when he is drawn away of his 
own lusts, and enticed''^ by them into obliqui- 
ties of conduct. And this is the simple fact. 
Sin is the evil principle embodied in action. 
By the fall of our first parent, the manifestation 
of every faculty of the soul has become debased; 
man easily falls into error ; courts the deepen- 
ing shades of vice, and even loves them ; but 
very difficulty regains the steep ascent to God 
and heaven, from which there is a constant re- 
coil in his rebellious heart. Now, till that 
heart has been renewed by Divine grace, there 
is a constant propensity to evil ; and after- 



CHAPTER X. 209 

wards there is, or ought to be, a never-fail- 
ing opposition to that corrupt tendency, which 
man inherits from his first parent. And it is 
only by the restraining and preventing grace of 
God, that any are enabled to stand against 
such an overwhelming tyranny; overwhelming, 
because the heart loves it, and eagerly clasps 
the chain by which it is held. Since, then, 
it is only by a new and living principle, even 
the grace of God which bringeth salvation, 
that the Christian escapes the corruption of 
sin, which is in the world; so, in the absence 
of this living principle, man becomes the slave 
of his sinful propensities : he is a tempter to 
himself, and he falls into gross vice from listen- 
ing to the voice of his corruptions. Yet God 
has furnished him with a counteracting princi- 
ple, if he will sincerely ask for it ; and has 
promised to bestow it liberally. 

Now it will not be contended that Satanic 
influence is superior to this sacred holy agency; 
it is only that man is too proud to ask for this 
boon, too corrupt to esteem it, too wicked to 
receive it ; he delights in iniquity, and in the 
gratification of his passions : to their depraved 
influence he listens with pleasure, and when 
conscience reminds him of his deviations from 
rectitude, he -rejoices to lay the blame upon the 



210 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

temptation of Satan ; as if Satan would be per- 
mitted to exert any power over him, except 
through the medium of his unrenewed nature ; 
his disposition to sin ; his corrupt propensities; 
and his delight to serve sin, rather than be 
found obedient to the Saviour, and living a life 
of righteousness, by faith upon Him who is the 
Son of God. 

But what are we to say on the subject of 
errors in opinion and judgment? Man, simple 
man, is the slave of Satan, because, since the 
fall, he thinks incorrectly, reasons erroneously, 
determines hastily, judges unfairly : both soul 
and body are subject to this debasing influence ; 
and therefore the spiritual principle has lost its 
power, and its attributes have been perverted, 
while the power of manifesting these operations 
has been curtailed, by the feebleness and mor- 
bid tendency of the organ destined for such 
visible manifestation. In both ways, error is 
produced ; and the operations of Satan upon 
the mind are made through the medium of this 
perversion of its functions, which, being applied 
to the affairs of life, leads to error in opinion, 
and obliquity in conduct. Let not, then, the 
presumptuous find shelter from the stings of 
conscience ; or the timid Christian distress 
himself by considering those views, and opi- 



CHAPTER X. 211 

nions, and feelings, as the immediate result of 
Satanic agency, which are, in fact, produced by 
the perversion of his own mind : but rather let 
him pray to be led into all truth, and strive to 
redeem the time ; and, in the strength of the 
Lord God, to recover that original perfection of 
the spiritual principle in which our first parent 
was created. 

It will not be necessary to enter again fully on 
the general influence of physical temperament, 
in modifying the expression of religious feel- 
ing ;* but a few words of explanation are due, in 
this place, to the candid and Christian remarks 
of H. B., in the ** Christian Observer," for Octo- 
ber, 1828. I am fully disposed to allow, that vi- 
sions of angels, and other appearances, have been 
seen by patriarchs, and prophets, and primitive 
Christians ; but I have before stated why we 
are not to expect a continuation of these extra- 
ordinary revelations, and why we should consider 
them as improbable. 

But further : the alleged circumstances are 
very different. It is manifest, from the cases 
recited by H. B., that there was always an 

* For his views on this subject, the Author would 
refer to his Essay in the '' Christian Observer" for 1828, of 
which it is his intention to place a more expanded view before 
the public. 

p 2 



212 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

object io be accomplished by the revelation ; and 
that, for the most part, it was forming a portion 
of that inspiration which was necessary for the 
accomplishment of the intended revelation of 
the whole will of a God of infinite mercy, to his 
sinful, wandering creatures. How dissimilar 
is this from the supposed vision of angels, and 
the revelation of the heavenly glory of Christ, 
and of the world to come, to expiring mortality, 
with no object to be answered, no end to be 
realized. 

Another important difference consists in the 
peculiar condition of the organ of mind. In ail 
the instances alleged by H. B., its integrity 
was unimpaired ; the individuals were in high 
health ; and their internal consciousness ena- 
bled them to perceive, what it had pleased the 
Almighty Ruler of the universe to reveal. This 
is easily conceivable ; but such is the constitu- 
tion of our nature, that, although this internal 
revelation cannot be perceived by the organs of 
sense ; yet the individual recipient of such 
communication will only become aware of the 
revelation by attending to it, and perceiving it : 
and it will only be influential by his reflecting 
upon it, and remembering it ; and by his deter- 
mining, in the strength of divine grace, to 
receive it by faith, as a revelation from God ; 



CHAPTER X. 213 

and in the power of the Lord God to act 
upon it. 

But attention, perception, reflection, memory, 
judgment, and volition, are intellectual faculties, 
whose functions are performed through the ?;ze- 
Jii/?72of the brainular organ; and it is only through 
this medium that the subject is conscious of the 
revelation he has received. Although a revela- 
tion, or vision, be made to the interior mind or 
soul ; the compound man becomes conscious of 
such revelation, and communicates it to others, 
wz/j/ through the medium of a bodily organ : and 
therefore, according to all analogy of the per- 
fection of the Divine government, it would be 
expected that it should be made when that 
organ was in a state of health or perfectness. 

But the period is now only marked on the 
page of prophetic and sacred history, when 
such revelations from on high were necessary ; 
and I return to the observation, that it should 
be recollected, '' that the spirit, though hover- 
ing on the verge of an eternal scene, is still 
confined to its material tenement; and that, 
whatever it may perceive, is through the medium 
of that corporeal habitation,'' This remark of 
course supposes that there is now 7io miraculous 
interposition of God's providence (the idea in- 
volved in Xhe consideration of internal revela- 



214 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

tion to fallen man ;) and we have considered 
this communication as unlikely, because the 
days of vision and prophecy have passed by ; 
because it is unnecessary ; and because such 
recorded revelations have been made in an inte- 
gral state of the cerebral function. 

Moreover, these visions are referred to the bo- 
dily senses ; for the patient commonly points to a 
particular part of the room in which he has seen 
the angels, witnessed the Saviour's cross, or en- 
joyed revelations of the glory of the future world ; 
and at the same time he is usually suffering from 
other ocular spectra, and perpetually endea- 
vouring to take hold of objects which appear 
before him, but which, in fact, have no real 
existence. 

Besides, I must in truth appeal to the records 
of my professional experience ; and I must state, 
that these visions are by no means confined to 
the death-bed of the Christian, who rests from 
his labour, and whose works do follow him, — 
but that they have also attended the closing 
scene of those over whom, in the judgment of 
the most expansive charity, we could have no 
hope ; who, during life, had never exhibited 
the fruits of faith, obedience, and love to God ; 
and who, at the last, had not shown that pa- 
tience, and submission, and acquiescence in 



CHAPTER X. 215 

the will of Heaven, which we should naturally 
expect from those over whom we could rejoice 
with confidence, or even rest in assured hope of 
their resurrection unto life eternal. 

But, further; this state, namely, the vision 
of angels, and revelation of future glory, is 
common to the maniac; who, in his hallucina- 
tions, mixes up himself as a principal actor 
in these glorious scenes, but who still details 
them with a sufficient degree of approach to 
truth and consistency, to be classed under the 
same view. If, then, the particular vision in 
question be common to the unrighteous, as well 
as to the righteous : and if its traces be clearly 
visible in the delirations of the insane ; surely, 
is it not more wise and prudent, more just 
to God, and more consonant to his dealings 
with mankind, to believe that this appearance 
really owns a bodily origin, and is to be as- 
cribed to the imperfect, failing, or perverted 
powers, of the organ of mental manifestation ? 

This result leaves entirely intact all the re- 
velations of Scripture ; which are of a totally 
different order, and which, in mercy and in 
love to poor perishing sinners, have been vouch- 
safed to man, for the establishment of his faith, 
the extension of his hope, and the increase of 
his knowledge. Although, therefore, I fully 



216 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

agree with H. B., that such things have been 
under a different situation of the Christian 
world, and of the church, I cannot accede to 
his position, that such things are, until the pre- 
ceding facts and arguments are refuted. Pos- 
sibly, under some future great change, such 
things may again be ; but of this we are not 
called upon to determine. 

The charge of enthusiasm, or superstition, is 
not preferred against H. B., or against any 
one who differs from me : for, in the first place, 
I do not believe that it would attach to him; 
and, according to my own principles, the pre- 
cise point of light, in which facts, and views, 
and opinions, are received by the individual, 
do very greatly depend upon his physical tem- 
perament, and upon its peculiar state, as in- 
fluenced by health or disease. This, of course, 
does not affect the truth of any particular point : 
but it does affect the impression of that truth, and 
the zeal and earnestness with which it is re- 
ceived ; or the caution, and doubt, and preju- 
dice, which absorb and enthral the mind. 



CHAPTER XI. 

On Presentiments. — Omens; — the case of martyrs, and 
their extraordinary, supernatural aid ; — opinions of Dr. 
Hibbert, and of the author of " Past Feelings Renovated." 

We must now say a few words on the subject 
of what are called presentiments. 

I apprehend that, in every instance, presen- 
timents may be referred to some antecedent 
physical or moral impression, and to its near or 
distant associations, however difficult it may be 
to trace them, and however illogically they 
may seem to be concatenated. 

Strong testimonies have been urged to prove 
that individuals under the influence of magnet- 
ism, or, as it has been perhaps more correctly 
designated, magnetic somnambulism, possess 
the power of predicting the day, the hour, the 
severity, the duration, of an attack; for instance, 
of hysteria or epilepsy, and of various other 



218 ESSAY ON SUPERSTJTION. 

bodily states. Now if these testimonies are 
valid, (if they are not, we cut the Gordian-knot 
at once by denying the existence of presenti- 
ment,) there may be a peculiar state of the 
brain, produced by disease, as well as artifi- 
cially induced by the agency of animal magnet- 
ism, in which it may be enabled to feel the 
approach of any great disaster to the constitu- 
tion. 

But even if the possibility of such a case 
were admitted, it cannot be believed to be of 
frequent occurrence; and with this single al- 
leged exception, presentiments may be always 
traced to antecedent powerful impression upon 
an anxious mind. There are two grounds on 
which this conviction is founded ; first, that 
frequently the expected results are not realized; 
and, secondly, that even when they are so, coin- 
cidence will often offer a just explanation; and, 
if not, the influence exerted by the presenti- 
ment itself upon the brain, and, through it, 
upon all the other functions of the body, will 
be sufficient to induce a morbid state, which 
will border on the very verge of distraction. 
In order to be admitted as consequential, the re- 
sults should be invariable, and should have no 
tendency to produce themselves ; whereas they 
are confessedly rare, and these rare instances 



CHAPTER XI. 219 

may easily arise from the physical influence of 
the first morbid impression. 

To illustrate these positions by example : A. 
B. told me that he had a presentiment of his 
approaching dissolution, and that medicine 
would be of no avail ; for that his days were 
numbered, his hour was determined, and he 
must die. Upon inquiry, he referred this im- 
pression to the '* abundant revelations which he 
had received." It is scarcely necessary for the 
author of the present Essay to add, that he 
thought differently from his patient; neither 
need he point out the source to which both 
the presentiment and the revelations were con- 
jointly referred. Under the influence of medi- 
cine, this patient recovered perfectly ; a proof 
of the absence of truth in the prediction of the 
sick man, and of the delusion under which he 
had laboured relative to these supposed spiri- 
tual communications from on high ; the whole 
of which had evidently resulted from the in- 
fluence of disease upon the intellectual organ 
of a highly enthusiastic individual. Of such 
cases I have known many, greatly exceeding 
those of an opposite description, of which, 
however, several have occurred to me. The 
following instance shall suffice, as an example 
taken froin the genus. 



220 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

C. D. became the subject of disease; for the 
effectual removal of which, a surgical operation 
was necessary. Upon its being proposed to 
the patient, she consented unhesitatingly^ but 
affirmed that she should die from its conse- 
quences. No danger being really apprehended 
from the operation, a day was fixed for its per- 
formance ; and it was discovered afterwards, 
that the patient had employed her time in the 
interval, in arranging her little domestic affairs, 
placing her drawers in order, attaching labels 
to her keys, and leaving the minutest directions 
behind her, that no confusion, or as little as 
possible, might ensue upon her decease. The 
hour for the operation arrived ; it was most 
skilfully performed by the first British surgeon 
of his day, and was supported by the patient 
with the utmost fortitude. Upon being after- 
wards congratulated by her medical attendant, 
on the good prospect of complete recovery 
which was before her, she only repeated her 
conviction that she should die ; and, in fact, in 
three days she was a corpse. Now, though 
the want of invariability in the result would be 
quite sufficient to show that such an impression 
could not emanate from an unchanging God ; 
yet in the present case it must be manifest, how 
great an influence this deep, absorbing, and 



CtJAPTER XT. 221 

exclusive feeling must have exerted upon the 
physical system ; depressing its power of 
vitality ; depriving it of the means of resisting 
the slightest shock to its integrity ; and predis- 
posing it to that irritation and inflammatory 
action, which so frequently blast the fairest 
prospect of recovery, as well as undermine the 
power of successful re-action, by which this 
result was to have been naturally effected. 

Pr^esefitiment is sometimes supported by a 
variety of alleged warnings, or omens, which are 
considered as indicative of some fatal event ; 
though they may fail to define its particular 
nature^ or the individual for whom the intima- 
tion is given. Generally speaking, it is sup- 
posed that these are tokens of death to the in- 
dividual remarking them, or to some of his 
friends or connexions. This is certainly taking 
a tolerably extensive range for the truth of the 
vaticination ; but even this is not sufficient. 

So active is the busy passion of/mr, that the 
disparity of numbers in a little social meeting; 
the ticking of the death-watch ; a peculiar un- 
easy chirping of the cricket ; the croaking of a 
raven ; the appearance of a winding-sheet on 
the candle, and a thousand other supposed 
omens^have struck terror into the hearts of the 
fearful, and sometimes^ by the very influence of 



222 ESSAY O^ SUPERSTITION. 

this terror upon the physical system, have 
given most undeservedly an air of truth to the 
presage, by the illness and death w^hich have 
followed. 

In the case of E. F., who was labouring 
under most serious and alarming illness, one 
feature of which was profuse hemorrhage from 
the nose, it being very hot weather the window 
was kept open during the whole night. It so 
happened, that a dog was observed to howl 
most piteously under the window ; a death-watch 
repeated its ominous monitions behind the bed ; 
a bat flew into the room and extinguished the 
candle ; and a raven passing, alighted upon the 
window-ledge, pecked with his beak, and 
flapped his wings against the (other) unopened 
window. Of course, the nurses all concluded 
that E. F. must inevitably die; but E. F. re- 
covered, and the whole concurrence of circum- 
stances would find an easy explanation in the 
attraction aff'orded by the light to the bat, its 
irritation to the watchful dog, the odour of 
blood to the ill-omened croaker, and perhaps 
the animating summer weather to the ticking 
insect. 

But the writer has seen all these omens fal- 
sified in a hundred cases ; and it is clear, that 
if the predicted consequences shall only follow 



CHAPTER XI. 223 

in a few instances, they must constitute ex- 
ceptions to the rule, — not the rule itself; and 
must be unworthy of serious consideration. 
Besides, the veriest accident; atmospherical 
changes; the peculiar, but natural action of 
the insect; and a certain constitution of the 
air consumed by the candle, or some other 
mode of regulating its admission, will seem to 
explain all these influences, and to place them 
upon a basis which removes them greatly from 
our present range ; referring them to mental 
ignorance, rather than to corporeal impression ; 
only the agency of the former upon the latter 
must never be forgotten. 

Farther, the simple, groundless, inexplicable 
presentiment, will be often found independently 
of these portents, and where this is the case, 
it is referable, for the most part, to a physical 
state of animal depression, attendant upon the 
incubation of disease, and may generally be 
considered as of no consequence ; yet it does 
occasionally exert such a formidable and in- 
jurious influence upon the malady with which 
it is placed in contact, that it tends to throw a 
semblance of truth around itself, by the morbid 
sympathies which itself has developed, while it 
has diminished the vital energy of resistance 
to disease, and of the inherent power possessed 



224 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

by the animal frame to restore its healthy func- 
tions, where the balance has once been de- 
stroyed. 

Happy they, who, escaping from the thral- 
dom of ignorance, and its fearful imagery, are 
enabled to trace the finger of God in all the 
events of life ; to refer them^ with their mani- 
fold results, to the wise and arbitrative will of 
the Supreme; and to trust in his care all they 
hold most dear, even where they cannot trace 
the footsteps of his power. All this frightful 
brood are called into being by the absence of 
a simple trust and sure confidence in God: and 
the knowledge of this should lead us to watch 
and pray against their influence ; since to dis- 
trust him is to dishonour him, and to dishonour 
him is sin. 

The case of martyrs, and the extraordinary 
composure with which they have endured tor- 
ments, has, on the one hand, been mixed up 
with the idea of spiritual agency ; and, on the 
other, has been referred by Dr. Hibbert to a 
certain physical condition, in which great suf- 
fering not only ceases to be painful, but be- 
comes, he says, the source of grateful sensation. 
Now, the idea that pain can change its nature, 
cease to be such, and commute its peculiar at- 
tributes for the manifestations of fleasure, is 



CHAPTER XI. 225 

certainly too absurd to be endured ; and only 
shows how far a favourite hypothesis may de- 
lude the mind into unreal creations;; and thus 
actually becomes a proof, how very far a pe- 
culiar physical condition of the reasoning organ 
may operate in perverting the manifestations 
of mind. 

This opinion of Dr. Hibbert has subjected 
him to the merited castigation of the author of 
a recent work on the subject of supernatural 
manifestations, entitled, '* Past Feelings Re- 
novated,'" who, however, errs equally on the 
opposite side of the question. The case of 
Theodorus is referred to by both these writers, 
in proof of their respective positions. It is re- 
lated of him, that he underwent a continuous 
torture for ten hours. *^ While enduring the 
extremity of pain, he was comforted by (as he 
conceived) a bright messenger from heaven, 
who allayed his sufferings, by wiping the per- 
spiration from his body, and by pouring cold 
water upon his irritated limbs, till he was free 
from pain. It is a fact, that the martyr con- 
tinued upon the scaffold in the sight of all men, 
smiling, and even singing, until it was thought 
expedient to take him down." This was con- 
ceived to be in consequence ''of supernatural 
interposition; and why should we doubt it?" 



226 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

This example will afford a good opportunity 
of offering a few remarks on this question, as 
it affects the case oi mai^tyrs in general. 

With regard to this particular instance, which 
is a very common example of the genus, if we 
allow its truth, we must also embrace its cir- 
cumstances ; by which we must go farther than 
even the admission of spiritual agency ; for we 
must recognize the material action of wiping 
away perspiration, the presence of a material 
something by which it was absorbed, and the 
actual material affusion of cold water, and of 
the action by which its application was made. 
But if so, the laws of nature must have been 
interfered with, and a miracle is produced. But 
this is not contended for ; and if it were so, 
the cause would be at once removed from the 
present question of spiritual agency. How then 
are the facts to be explained ? Most readily. 

In the first place, the mind of the martyr 
will have been subjected, long before the period 
of martyrdom, to the conflicting influence of 
the fear of bodily suffering on the one hand, 
and of a prominent desire to be found a faithful 
witness of the truth, even unto death, on the 
other ; while the depressing agency of the 
former will have been gradually superseded, 
by the prospect of that glorious inheritance, 



CHAPTET? XI. 2*27 

even the crown of life, promised to the good 
and faithful servant and soldier of Jesus Christ. 
The result of this frequent contemplation will 
be a firm reliance on the support promised from 
on high ; a sure trust and confidence in the 
comforting and sustaining presence of Him who 
has promised to be with his people in their 
hour of extremity. As the period of final suf- 
fering approaches, the feelings will be more 
highly wrought upon : and the temporary ago- 
nies of dissolution will be more constantly con- 
trasted with the glory which shall follow, and 
which will be realized at death. Then, 
again, there will be a prominent desire to prove 
the sincerity of faith in Christ, by complete 
obedience to his will ; this will be accompanied 
by a very great effort to beai^ the allotted tor- 
ture, and to sustain the evidence for truth, by 
showing the firmness of real belief in its doc- 
trines, and their power to support the mind, 
under the most painful circumstances, without 
a murmur, or an expression of impatience. 
These are powerful motives to mental effort; 
but there yet remains to be considered their 
bodily influence. 

The agency of these continued powerful im- 
pressions upon the brain will be such as to 
exalt its vitality, to increase its energy, to call 

Q 2 



228 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

up an extraordinary supply of blood, to aug- 
ment its natural powers of manifestation, to 
continue a degree of excitement, by which the 
patient is carried out of himself; he is animated 
by the glow of enthusiasm, (the word has its 
good, as well as its bad sense^) and his feelings 
are wrought up to extacy. Now this is a brain- 
ular state, and one which predisposes to the 
creation of supernatural appearances ; and it 
would not be surprising, if the real mental 
support and consolation, promised to those who 
wait upon God, and especially vouchsafed un- 
der these circumstances, should by the martyr, 
in his ecstatic state, be mistaken for extraor- 
dinary spiritual agency, and should thereby be 
invested with a form and locality which are 
really the result of long-excited brainular ac- 
tion. 

The Christian has nothing to fear from this 
view of the subject ; the promised strength 
from on high, strength equal to his day, is 
vouchsafed, but it is afforded by the ordinary 
assistance of the Holy Spirit: it is conveyed 
through the medium of second causes, and not 
by the intervention of a supernatural creation ; 
by leading the mind into all truth, and not by 
the perversion of its imagination ; by the sure 
word of God, and not by the presence of an 



CHAPTER XI. 229 

angel. The latter fancied appearance is a 
brainular illusion, from which the disciple of 
Christ should pray to be delivered. 

Nor let it be conceived, that this purely phy- 
sical condition y is unequal to the effect produced. 
Let it be recollected that there is no instance 
of fortitude in the Christian martyr, which has 
not been paralleled by the unyielding endur- 
ance of the greatest ingenuity of torture by the 
heathen, — by him, of whom it may justly be 
said, that God was not in all his thoughts, — 
because he would not suffer his enemies to 
triumph over an extorted groan : he has even 
told them how to augment his sufferings, and 
has exulted in showing the most unshaken 
fortitude, amidst the most appalling trials to 
human strength and constancy of purpose. 
This may be called infatuation. Granted : yet 
here, the mere motives of the man acted in 
producing such an ecstatic excitement of the 
brain, that the individual rose above physical 
suffering, was lifted out of himself, and would 
not grieve the spirits of his ancestors, by ex- 
hibiting the slightest symptom of degenerate 
courage. 

O, suffer not the Christian's hope and con- 
solation to rest upon a similar superstitious 
basis : but let him humbly rely upon that 



230 ESSAY ON SUPERSTrTION. 

Strength which has been promised in the per- 
formance of duty : let him diligently seek for 
support in prayer, in the word of God, and in 
waiting upon him; and then he will be en- 
abled, in the promises of the Gospel, to realize 
the Saviour's presence with his suffering chil- 
dren ; let him strive to imitate Him who knows 
all our inhrmities, and was himself made per- 
fect through sufferings : above all, let him look 
to his sufferings upon the cross, and during his 
last agony, and let him contemplate for what 
and for whom he suffered ; so that the firm- 
ness of his principles, the reality of his faith, 
and their efficacy to support him, shall be de- 
monstrated, and shall present a rational, a well- 
grounded, and a lovely example of Christian 
fortitude. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Agency of evil spirits. — Possession ; — demonomania ; — 
temptation; — astrology; — doctrine of apparitions; — spi- 
ritual contemplation; — peculiar physical state. 

The agency of evil spirits is so nearly con- 
nected with this part of the subject, that it 
presents a just claim to consideration before 
we proceed further. 

The principal forms in which we meet with 
this variety of superstitious influence, are those 
of supposed possessio?i, and alleged temptation. 
Almost every hamlet has its traditional legend 
of the former state, or its actual habitation of 
some " cu?27iing woman,"" or witch, or other pre- 
tender to supernatural information ; and in al- 
most every coterie will be found some mind 
under the actual agency of temptation. With 
these views are associated various processes, 



232 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

by which the power and presence of the evil 
one are to be evoked or deprecated ; and a 
whole host of excuses, for a particular line of 
conduct or thought, which conscience admo- 
nishes is wrong, and which reason and religion 
prove, on other grounds to be indefensible. 

1. With possession, as far and as frequently 
as it may be the result of fraud or imposture, 
we have nothing to do ; but instances are to be 
met with, in which it is verily believed by the 
patient, and has been adopted as an absorbing 
and exclusive idea ; and it then forms a variety 
of religious melancholy, under the appellation 
of demonomania. This, with other indications 
of insanity, is to be referred to a peculiar bodily 
condition, and is attended by certain morbid 
manifestations of mind, which originate in a 
diseased state, either primary or secondary, 
of the intellectual organ. Its classification, as 
a variety of melancholy, would show, that the 
ancients believed it to originate in a disordered 
secretion of bile ; and indeed it is very certain, 
that irritation of the liver has a decided influ- 
ence in throwing a sombre cloud over all the 
present, as well as the future events of life. 
But I am more disposed to believe, that in this 
case the j^r^^ link in the chain of morbid action 
will be found in the brain itself; and that the 



CHAPTER XIl. 233 

disturbance of the digestive functions, is a con- 
sequence, rather than a cause, of such irritation, 
though it may afterwards tend to keep up, and 
even ultimately to aggravate, the operation of 
the originating cause. 

This view of the subject is borne out 
by considering the circumstances of the ma- 
lady. In the first place^ there will be found 
to have existed a general predisposition to 
insanity. General ignorance, and contracted 
mental manifestation, will show how little at- 
tention and cultivation have been bestowed 
upon the intellectual organ : the patient is re- 
markable for mental feebleness and pusillani- 
mity ; thus proclaiming a want of brainular 
energy, and of intellectual expansion. Pre- 
viously to the fully-formed paroxysm of malady, 
it wdll be found that the mind has been under 
the influence of prolonged disquietude, fear, or 
even terror ; and these very generally own 
their commencement in false and erroneous opi- 
nions on the subject of religion, arising either 
from an injudicious statement of its real truths, 
or from partial and exclusive views ; or from 
placing too great dependance on mere feelings 
and emotions, rather than on the sentiments — 
the results of sound judgment and a spiritually 
enlightened understanding; or from such a 



234 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

degree of physical nervous irritation, that the 
rays of religious comfort do not reach the mind 
through the material veil which disorder of 
cerebral function has drawn around its percep- 
tions. 

Again : all these causes of disturbance will 
be mutual re-agents with accumulating force ; 
and after a certain degree of conflicting and 
anxious attention, the false notions take pos- 
session of the individual, and, beyond an inef- 
fectual struggle, claim their supremacy — a su- 
premacy of disease. Now it will be seen, that 
the remote causes of this malady operate rather 
immediately than intermediately upon the brain ; 
and that its irritation is to be traced rather to 
mental than to bodily sources. This opinion is 
strengthened by the fact, that these views have 
become less frequent, and exert a diminished 
influence, exactly in proportion as knowledge 
has become diffused ; as the Scriptures of truth 
have been rendered more accessible, and as 
they have ceased to be a dead letter, by the 
extension of religious education, and of juster 
views on the subject of God's dealings with his 
sinful children. 

That this state istheresult of brainular irrita- 
tion, is still further shown by the prevailing dis- 
position to suicide by which it is accompanied. 



CHAPTER XII. 235 

Far be it from the author to diminish the awful 
responsibility of those who put a period to their 
existence, and rush unbidden into the presence 
of their Maker and Judge, with an act of aggra- 
vated treason on their hands : far be it from him 
to palliate the crime of suicide, or even to insi- 
nuate that in the majority of cases it is an act 
of insanity. On the contrary, he verily believes 
that it too frequently arises from a determina- 
tion to get rid of present sorrow and perplexity 
at any hazard, and, of course, from a practical 
disbelief of the tremendous risk involved in this 
act of disobedience. But the energy and ex- 
tent of moral responsibility will never be in- 
vaded by the development of just views; nor 
by defining the boundary of moral accounta- 
bility from the limits of physical impulse. 

To apply these principles to the present in- 
stance : the patient verily believes himself pos- 
sessed by evil spirits, rejected by God, sold 
to Satan, and hurried on to do his will ; so that 
he finally commits an act which, according to 
his own showing, would place him immediately 
under the tormenting influence of the evil one ; 
and would make him realize the fire which he 
has complained of as existing in his brain — the 
hell of his bosom — the worm that dieth not, 
and the fire that is not quenched. Now this is 



236 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

not sound, and certainly not scriptural, reason- 
ing. To do that which seals present suffering 
with an irrevocable doom — a doom, too, which 
might have been avoided — is not legitimate 
reasoning; and the act which results from its 
awfully tremendous perversion, must, in the 
judgment of truth and charity, be considered an 
insane act. Far otherwise the petulant impa- 
tience of him who thoughtlessly rushes from 
present pain, upon the desperate venture of 
presumed annihilation, — or even upon a reck- 
lessness of futurity ; for, on the supposition 
that this were depending upon ignorance, in this 
happy country at least, it must be voluntary, 
inexcusable, and therefore sinful. 

But again, with regard to temptation. — This 
term often signifies trial, and is then an expres- 
sion of that life of probation in which we are 
placed, for the exercise of faith and patience ; 
and, generally, of the Christian character. But 
this is not the acceptation of the term with 
which we have now to do : it is rather a sup- 
posed enticement by Satan, or his angels, to 
commit that which is hateful in the sight of 
God. Now this is either a physical or a moral 
state ; but in neither case is it supernatural. 

It may first be a physical condition ; as, for 
example, in the history of G. H., who has often 



CHAPTER XII. „ 237 

consulted me for varying states of health. At 
one time, he has referred to certain morbid 
manifestations of mind, and temptations to sin, 
which he has ascribed to Satanic influence : 
and at another period has begged of me to de- 
fine the respective limits of physical and moral 
agency, and to assist him in distinguishing the 
former influence from that of natural corruption, 
or predisposition to evil ; particularly as exhi- 
bited in that spontaneous or involuntary thought^ 
which must arise from the prevalence of certain 
mental constitutions, or must be the eflect of 
nervous irritability ; so satisfied was he, in his 
better moments, that much of what he expe- 
rienced depended upon a varying condition of 
the organ of mind. This latter state will very 
generally be accompanied by other uneasy sen- 
sations, and morbid mental manifestations, 
which will define its nature, and clearly point 
to the diseased organ ; since disorder of func- 
tion necessarily implies a disturbed and irri- 
tated state of the organ by which the function is 
carried on ; and, in the case before us, the brain 
has been shown to be that organ. This, how- 
ever, is not always obvious : but then, the im- 
pression will very seldom want the characteristic 
of unreasonableness ; that is, it will be without 



238 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

a solid basis of truth, and it will not be re- 
movable by its light. 

It is not intended to deny the influence of 
the spirit of evil, but merely to place the sub- 
ject upon a just foundation ; and to show, that 
the enticements of their own lusts is the same 
principle which produced the fall of our first 
parents ; and which now operates upon their 
posterity, as it did also upon them, through 
the medium of their sensorial and intellectual 
capacities, — now augmented by the consequen- 
ces of that fall, and by the introduction of those 
depraved mental states which render the spiri- 
tual principle assailable to the influence of 
sin ; or which, in other words, prepare it for 
listening to the voice of temptation. We fully 
believe that Satan, as a roaring lion, goeth 
about, seeking whom he may devour ; but we 
believe that his agency is exerted, and his 
power to harm us, is conferred by that sin 
which reigns in our mortal bodies. 

Now the simple scriptural truth is, '' that 
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away 
of his own lusts and enticed." And the sequel 
is most just: ^' Then when lust hath conceived, it 
bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, 
bringeth forth death." This, then, is the beau- 



CHAPTER XII. 239 

tiful explanation of temptation, against which 
we are taught to watch and pray. It consists 
in the supremacy of corrupt principles or pas- 
sions, propensities, or views, called into action 
by that evil change which has passed upon man, 
when he fell from his first estate ; and which 
now operates in producing alienation of the 
heart from God, and rebellion of the will against 
his holy law. And the gradual increase of this 
corruption, from the fi.rst leaning of the heart 
towards that which is evil, to its full accom- 
plishment in action ; and to its final consumma- 
tion in the cessation of spiritual life, and the 
universal devastating reign of spiritual death, 
are here beautifully portrayed. 

The same cause will operate the perversion 
of the intellectual faculties^ and will explain how 
error is embraced, and nurtured into prejudice; 
and why it maintains the human soul divine in 
a state of darkness and destitution, fro-m which 
nothing can recall it but the ray of scriptural 
truth, vivified by the Spirit of the most high 
God. But this omnipotent Spirit deigns to 
employ means ; and these will always be con- 
sistent with truth, and will ever tend to pro- 
mote the glory of God and the good of man : 
to both which objects the extension of his know- 



240 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

ledge, and the chastened development of his 
mental powers, seem indispensable ; and not 
less so, the government of his heart, and the 
regulation of his desires, by the unerring lav^ 
of God. 

It will not be expected that I should notice 
the miserable impostures of fortune-telling, 
casting nativities, and developing the horos- 
cope ; or draw aside the veil which invests the 
whole science of divination and astrology ; be- 
cause these are manifestly the result of evil 
intention, and cannot, therefore, with propriety 
be referred to a physical state. We shall there- 
fore pass on to the several points of interest 
involved in the last object of our attention ; 
namely, the mystery of apparitions : and, in par- 
ticular, the question — Can they be explained 
upon any satisfactory principle ? 

The more usual forms of alleged supernatural 
appearance are those in which some deviation 
from the common processes of nature, as settled 
by its Divine Author, has been supposed to be 
produced for the purpose of occasioning a cer- 
tain spiritual impression ; in which individuals, 
just as they have ceased to live, have presented 
themselves to others for the purpose of giving 
an intimation of their death — oftentimes for no 



CHAPTER XII. 241 

conceivable design ; and the spectral forms of 
such as are supposed to haunt particular spots, 
in order to reveal crime, or to give some other 
important information to the living. 

Now if we can succeed in showing that there 
is a peculiar state of the brain, in which such 
appearances are not unusual, and that this is a 
morbid state ; if we can show that this is the 
result of impending disease, and that it may be 
produced by the exhibition of certain remedies ; 
if we can further prove, that the anticipated re- 
sults have not, in every instance, followed ; and 
if we can account for some of the most remark- 
able instances of apparitions, upon natural 
principles, we shall not wander far from the 
truth when we adopt a physical interpretation 
for these same appearances. 

It has sometimes been observed by those 
who disbelieve in apparitions, and with a kind 
of triumphant air, that a ghost was never seen 
by two persons at the same time. But this is 
no argument ; for the very nature of the case 
supposes that it is a spiritual not a material ex- 
istence ; and therefore not cognizable by the 
external senses, but only perceived by the in- 
ternal. In the very nature of things, there- 
fore, that which is immaterial can only be 

R 



242 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

perceived by the one mind to which it is pre- 
sented, — or to two or more minds, individually 
acted upon by a similar spiritual agency. In 
giving up this objection to ghosts, it will how- 
ever be seen, that this very abandonment of an 
untenable position involves a corollary, fatal to 
all those relations in which mattrial attributes 
have been ascribed to them. It will be seen here- 
after, that this principle admits of an impor- 
tant application to one of the most frequently 
quoted histories of apparitions after death ; 
namely, that of Lord Tyrone to Lady Beresford, 
which will be considered in a future chapter. 

Apparitions are ascribable, in a great num- 
ber of instances, to trick, and are generally 
produced for some sinister purpose ; and then 
the science of optics and the resources of che- 
mistry will afford many useful explanations, 
and will account for a large majority of the 
most far-famed ghost stories. 

But there are many other histories which 
cannot thus be explained, and which must 
either be admitted as actual spectral appear- 
ances of a supernatural character, or be con- 
sidered as physical 'products, the result of a pe- 
culiar morbid state of the brain, which may be 
traced to irritation of that organ. 



CHAPTER xri. 243 

This peculiar state may be, and indeed fre- 
quently is, induced by the pressure of impend- 
ing disease ; and then the supposed appearance 
will be followed by morbid excitement of the 
system (febrile action), which is now often as- 
cribed to the influence o^ emotion excited by the 
spiritual appearance ; whereas, in fact, the sub- 
sequent commotion is a mere consequence of 
the previously disordered state of the brainular 
function. This peculiar condition of the brain 
may likewise originate in intense mental emo- 
tion, particularly of a depressing character. 
I shall presently produce examples of these 
states, always preferring those which have 
fallen under my own notice. 

But before we proceed further, we must add 
another word, on the subject of spiiitual contem- 
plation. — It has been said, that an apparition is 
in fact presented to spiritual contemplation ; that 
it is cognizable by mental perception alone; and 
that the truth of its existence is based upon this 
principle, that the idea is conceived in the mind. 
Dr. Hibbert, on the contrary, says, that it is a 
renovation of past feelings , with all the energy of 
truth, and all the vividness of an intensely in- 
terested imagination. Neither of these views 
is quite satisfactory. 

It is agreed by all parties, that an apparition 

R 2 



244 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



has no real and material existence — no flesh 
and bones ; and that although presented to the 
eye, and heard by the ear, it yet possesses no 
tangible substance ; that it cannot intercept or 
transmit, absorb or reflect, the rays of light ; 
and is incapable of producing those atmosphe- 
rical vibrations^ which are necessary for the 
propagation of sound. It may, therefore, in 
this respect, be said to be an ideal object con- 
ceived in the mind, or to be the product of 
spiritual contemplation. But spiritual contem- 
plation is that process during which the imma- 
terial principle perceives, thinks, reflects, as- 
sociates, remembers, reasons. 

Of the nature of spiritual existence, when 
separated from matter,, we know nothing ; and 
of the modes and habits of thought and feeling 
of pure spirit, we equally know nothing. More- 
over, we become conscious of these operations 
within ourselves, only through the medium of 
the brainular organ, — the appointed channel 
for the manifestations of mind. 

But if there be any disorder of function on 
the part of that organ ; if it shall have received 
such a powerful mental emotion as shall have 
excited it vehemently ; or if it shall be suffer- 
ing from the threatened invasion of impending 
disease ; it will cease to be a perfect medium for 



CHAPTER XII. 245 

conveying the results of spiritual contempla- 
tion ; the manifestations of mind will be per- 
verted, and spectral illusions will be the result. 

And this view of the cause will be invariably 
borne out by the circumstances of the case. 
Some anxious state, some depressing passion, 
or some morbid cerebral condition, will have 
preceded the creation of the apparition. And, 
in simple truth, the semblance of form, and 
defined outline, which so generally attaches to 
this kind of supernatural appearance, should be 
enough to proclaim illusion somewhere; for, 
at all events, the senses are deceived, and this 
must be attended by deviation from the healthy 
action of the mental manifestations. 

And since this can alone be dependent upon 
some morbid condition of the manifesting organ, 
either temporary or permanent, we have rea- 
soned back to the assertion^ that the brain 
under these circumstances is always in a morbid 
state; in fact, that it is subjected to that ''pe- 
culiar condition in lohich it has escaped the controul 
of the presiding mind, and continues to act on with- 
out direction or guidance/^ 

On the contrary, the position that apparitions 
are the result of past images recalled in the 
mind ; in fact, recollected impressions of scenes 
long lost, only grotesquely associated, with an 



246 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

undue degree of intensity, is equally unsatis- 
factory and unconvincing ; for, 

In the first place, this hypothesis will not 
account for all supposed supernatural appear- 
ances ; such, for instance, as that which made 
so powerful an impression on Colonel Gardiner, 
and similar spectra which have been expe- 
rienced by many others ; and if the theory be 
inapplicable to all the particular cases, which it 
ought to explain, we have good ground for sus- 
pecting that is not the correct explanation of 
ANY_, however it may seem to account for many 
of the attendant phenomena satisfactorily. 

Secondly ; the hypothesis will not account 
for the recalling of these recollected impres- 
sions at the precise moment at which appari- 
tions are produced ; since, if they were only 
recollected impressions, there can be no good 
reason why they may not be created at any 
time, especially by a voluntary effort of me- 
mory : a fortiori, therefore, is it most extraor- 
dinary, not only that they cannot be reproduced 
by any effort of volition, however powerful, but 
that their appearance is actually independent 
of the will ; and, moreover, that it is to be met 
with only and invariably, during the continu- 
ance of a state of morbid irritation of the brain ? 

Thirdly ; this hypothesis will not account for 



CHAPTER XII. 247 

the Tearfulness with which an apparition is 
viewed. Ideas familiar to the mind, recollected 
impressions of past scenes and persons removed, 
when recalled by the aid of memory, do not 
produce terror; but, on the contrary, a chas- 
tened satisfaction, or a mellowed sorrow : and 
this valuable mental attribute delights to dwell 
on the dear forms of those whom we have lost, 
and to contemplate the mental manifestations 
associated with such cherished remembrance. 
But the sudden and involuntary appearance of 
this very form, when suggested to the mind, 
produces a saisissement, which the system can 
scarcely sustain consistently with the integrity 
of its functions ; and which plainly indicates an 
unusual or morbid state of the manifesting organ, 
namely, the brain. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Critical inquiry into the views of a recent writer in the 
Record, on the subject of apparitions. 

The present seems to be a proper opportunity 
for noticing the observations of a valuable, 
though mistaken, writer in '' The Record." 
This individual fears that sceptical notions may 
be fostered by referring dreams, apparitions, 
and the like, to a state of morbid irritation of 
the brain, the material organ of the mind. 

''Men of this character," he remarks, *'turn 
away their eyes from the operation of God's 
hand in nature and providence ; and therefore 
it is to be expected, that they should close 
them fast against any instance, even remotely 
tending to estabhsh his existence, and his con- 
troul over the affairs of mankind." Again, 
adds the writer, '*the position is, that spiritua 



CHAPTER XIIJ. 249 

beings exist; generally invisible to mortal eye. 
The refutation, that their existence is dis- 
proved, from the impressions of their appear- 
ance only being received during the prevalence 
of a diseased state of the nervous system. 
This assertion, however, the accuracy of it 
being assumed, proves nothing. To see, or 
hear, or taste, or smell, or touch, the corres- 
ponding organs must be in a state of health. 
If they are disordered, the sensations are lost. 
They are frequently lost for a time, and again 
they resume their pov^ers. But there may be 
other disorders or alterations in one or more of 
the senses, not of common occurrence, which 
do not, as in the usual cases of disease, strike 
out existing objects from the cognizance of the 
mind ; but which present to its view existing 
objects, which, in the healthy or usual state of 
the organs, are not perceived." 

Now I notice first, that the physiological 
principle upon which this argumentation pro- 
ceeds, is not founded in truth, or supported by 
facts. It is indeed true^ that there are organs 
adapted to receive the impressions of external 
nature, and to convey them to the brain ; 
where, if that central organ of sensation be 
attentive to the impression, a distinct and ade- 
quate idea is formed of the object of sight, or 



250 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

touch, or hearing, or taste, or smell. But it 
is not true, that if these organs are disordered 
the sensations are lost. It is not just, or sci- 
entific, to forget here, the important agency of 
the intellectual brain, in order to the com- 
pleteness of an impression : nor is it correct to 
endow the organs of sense with a primary and 
full power; whereas their office is subordinate : 
they act as mere sentinels ; and the power 
of receiving, or combining, considering, and 
weighing the results, rests entirely with the 
brain, and upon its attention to the notices it 
receives. Thus, therefore, mere impression is at 
all times unsatisfactory, till it has been referred 
to, and judged of, and estimated by, the pre- 
siding mind ; which determines its truth and 
value, according to its possessing or to its 
wanting certain attributes. 

But the sensations are not lost when these 
organs are disordered, at least, they are not 
so always, or even often. In fact, the loss of 
sensation must depend upon a temporary or 
permanently paralytic state of the sentient ex- 
tremities of the nerves ; a state of disease 
which is much more commonly referrable to 
a condition of irritation of the brain, than of 
the local organ of sense. And even supposing 
the disorder to be confined to the proper or- 



CHAPTER XIII. 251 

gan of sense, it will by no means follow that 
the sensation is lost ; since that organ may be 
subjected to many varieties of irritation ; and 
it will much more frequently happen, that its 
function shall be unduly excited, or that it shall 
be perverted, even to such an extent as to give 
rise to unreal impressions by its excessive ac- 
tivity, than that the sensation should be lost. 

Moreover, this hyper-activity and perversion 
do very generally result from primary irritation 
of the brain, to which these impressions are 
communicated; and the result is, that sensorial 
illusions are not infrequent under such circum- 
stances. Now it has been stated, that appari- 
tions are intellectual illusions, proceeding from 
an irritated intellectual organ : consequently, 
the analogy of sensorial disease is strongly in 
favour of the position assumed in the present 
Essay. 

That these sensations may be lost and re- 
stored, perverted and adjusted, excited and 
depressed, and this in frequent alternation, is 
borne out by every-day facts : and nothing is 
more common than the fluctuations between 
melancholy and excitation. The history of 
A. B. will illustrate this position. For many 
years his life has been passed in these succeed- 



252 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

ing changes, not in rapid and sudden transition, 
but insensibly gliding into the one or the other 
form, exactly in proportion as the brain has 
been in a state of slight, moderate, or high ex- 
citement; or in the opposite condition of failing 
energy, oppressive languor, or absolute col- 
lapse : so that, perhaps, there can scarcely be 
said to have been one day in which the organ 
of mind has been free from morbid action ; 
and, therefore, not one day in which its mani- 
festations have been perfectly correct. jVow 
the state of these manifestations may always 
be predicated from the more or less morbid 
brainular action, varying from the highest de- 
gree of bustling activity, and excessive interest, 
to the most perfect indisposition for action, 
and want of interest in every object. In the 
former case, there is the most unconquerable 
vigilance ; in the latter, an equal tendency to 
sleep, which is rather courted than resisted, 
in order to escape from the oppressive tedium 
of existence. In the former there exists a 
high susceptibility to impression ; in the latter, 
scarcely any possibility of receiving it: in 
both cases will be found perversion of sensorial 
influence. This patient will appear towards 
the close of our Essay, as having seen appari- 



CHAPTER XITI. 253 

tions ; thus once more leading us back to "the 
cerebral origin of these supposed spiritual 
creations. 

Again : the existence of spiritual beings is 
not denied — very far from it ; — neither is it a 
question as to their functions : the real point 
in discussion is not this ; but, Whether certain 
apparitions, which have often been referred to 
spiritual agency^ may not be accounted for 
more truly on another principle ? 

It is allowed on all hands, that spiritual be- 
ings are not cognizable by the corporeal eye ; 
their existence, therefore, cannot be demon- 
strated^ and must be received as a matter of 
faith. Now on this view of the subject we 
rest our belief: not, surely, on the treacherous 
foundation of merely human testimony, but on 
the sure word of God, which reveals to us the 
attributes and offices of the Holy Spirit^ the 
Comforter and Sanctifier of the people of God ; 
and also speaks of good and evil spirits, — the 
former sent forth to minister to the heirs of 
salvation, the latter busied in alienating the 
soul from God, and tempting it away, by the 
voice of its own lusts, from the paths of religion 
and holiness. But of the mode of their access 
to the mind, or of their agency upon it, nothing 
is revealed. Certain, however, it is, that so 



254 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

far as we know any thing of the functions of 
these spiritual existences, they differ in their 
essential character, and in every particular at- 
tribute, from modern apparitions. And since 
the latter do not usually lead to any beneficial 
result, or indeed to any result at all, we believe 
them to differ in their nature from the com- 
missioned or permitted messengers of God's 
holy will. Therefore, as some instances of 
these alleged supernatural appearances have 
been distinctly traced to certain phenomena of 
bodily agency, we hold it to be most logical, 
most consistent with sound reasoning, most 
agreeable to revelation, and most honourable 
to God, to ascribe other unknown, but analogous 
and extraordinary phenomena, to a similar 
cause ; and for this plain reason, that it is un- 
necessary and unwise to call in the aid of su- 
pernatural power, when a peculiar morbid state 
of the body will abundantly explain, for the 
most part, this supposed spiritual agency. 

We must not reject this explanation, because 
it may not solve all the difficulties of the sub- 
ject. Is there scarcely any natural problem of 
which we can unravel all the intricacies of ac- 
tion and passion, and motive and influence ? 
Further, if we cannot explain how the bud of 
the future year is perfected in the autumn of 



CHAPTER XITI. 255 

the present; how it is preserved, and in due 
time resumes its activity, expands its leaves, 
produces its flowers, and matures its fruits ; 
is it surprising that we cannot develop all the 
laws of the finest and most complicated portion 
of the living machinery — the brain? Let us 
not be infatuated, and led away by high-sound- 
ing prejudice ; but let us dwell in adoring 
gratitude upon the goodness and power of that 
Supreme and Holy Being, who has thus wisely 
constructed, and thus essentially protected, so 
delicate an organ from disease and injury, that 
its morbid associations, when tliey do occur, 
are looked upon with a vague and fearful in- 
terest, or an ignorant apprehension, which in- 
vests them with attributes they do not possess; 
and which induces many to call in the opera- 
tion of Spiritual influence, which they cannot 
explain at all, to account for a natural morbid 
state ; which is in part explicable upon natural 
principles, but of which we cannot fathom all 
the peculiarities. 

But again : the writer above alluded to goes 
on to remark, that there may be other disorders 
or alterations *' in one or more of the senses, 
not of common occurrence, which do not, as in 
the usual cases of disease, strike out existing 
objects from the cognizance of the mind ; but 



256 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

which present to its view existing objects, 
which, in the healthy or usual state of the 
organs, are not perceived." 

Now this argument assumes a point as set- 
tled, which might well be questioned ; namely, 
the existence of apparitions as spiritual objects. 
For although we have allowed, and do verily 
believe in, the existence of spii^itual beings, yet 
we have carefully distinguished between these 
and the common alleged apparitions. But 
leaving this objection, let us ascertain the 
exact meaning of the writer before us, which 
appears to be this : That as in the common or 
healthy state of the senses, or of the brain 
upon which these depend, man is unable to 
perceive spiritual objects ; so there may be 
some disordered or altered condition of that 
organ, or some changed mode of theii^ function, 
which shall give them the capacity of perceiv- 
ing that which^ in their normal relations, was 
withheld from their notice by the physical 
structure which encompassed them. 

But if so, it should seem that a deviation from 
perfect action, that is, a morbid state, is sup- 
posed to be necessary for the perceptioti of spi- 
ritual objects ; and since the state of health is 
the most perfect state, it follows, that an im- 
perfect, or altered, or diseased condition of the 



CHAPTER XTII. 257 

brain, is necessary to the perception of these 
spiritual beings : so that the point in dispute 
is granted to a certain extent, or at least, it is 
resolved into this form, Whether apparitions in 
general be the creation of a peculiar mode of 
cerebral irritation ; or whether apparitions, be- 
ing real spiritual existences, this peculiar irri- 
tation is necessary to their perception. 

Now if it be thus granted, that a morbid 
state must exist, it will surely be much more 
consonant with reason, and with our experi- 
ence of the Divine government, that intel- 
lectual and sensorial illusions should be the 
production of irritated brain, rather than that 
disease should be produced in order to confer 
an additional power upon the brain, to enlarge 
its faculties, and to enable it to receive notices, 
which could in no other way be obtained. If 
the contrary position were assumed, who is to 
decide the kind and degree of this morbid state 
which may be necessary to confer the requisite 
additional power ? and who is to distinguish be- 
tween this morbid state and many forms of in- 
cipient insanity ? That a morbid state exists, is 
allowed by all ; that this state is produced in 
order to confer the power of supernatural vision, 
is assumed by the writer of the paper on which 
I am commenting ; that it is in itself the cause 

s 



258 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

of alleged supernatural appearances, is con- 
tended for by the present essayist: and the 
issue is by him securely left to the decision of 
every unprejudiced mind. 

That portion of the Sacred History to which 
the above-mentioned writer refers, ('' And 
Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open 
his eyes that he may see. And the Lord 
opened the eyes of the young man, and he 
saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of 
horses and chariots of fire, round about Elisha," 
2 Kings vi. 17,) is, throughout, the account of 
a miraculous interference of the God of Provi- 
dence for the preservation of his servant and 
prophet. But we know that the age of mira- 
cles has ceased, and we do not now expect 
them ; any reasoning, therefore, which is 
founded upon such a presumption, is clearly 
untenable, and contrary to the usual course of 
God's moral government of the world. 

Further, there appears at the present horn- 
to be an irritable dread of scepticism, as con- 
nected with this question. Now I beheve that 
a tendency to scepticism exists, but not in the 
way which has been supposed. The human 
heart inclines to practical infidelity ; it longs to 
forget its accountability ; and it desires to live 
without God in the world. In this awful state 



CHAPTER XIII. 259 

of alienation from God, it will prove a soothing 
and consolatory reflection, if it can be brought 
to believe that the existence of spiritual beings 
can only be perceived during the prevalence of 
a peculiar mental state, over which it has no 
kind of influence ; because it will naturally say, 
that other manifestations of mind of a morbid 
character may be placed to the score of some 
other mental irritation, equally dependent upon 
supernatural agency, and equally involuntary ; 
and thus moral responsibility is destroyed ; 
and disbelief of revelation treads very closely 
upon the footsteps of this fatal delusion. But 
if man's accountability be upheld, and the su- 
premacy of his own will be maintained, and 
these supernatural appearances be accounted 
for as the result of brainular action, after it has 
been separated from the control of the presid- 
ing mind, by a physiological action, such as 
sleep; or by a pathological condition, such as 
impending disease, he finds no way of escape 
for himself, and is brought back to the holy law 
of God which he has broken, and to the con- 
sequences which have flowed from its infrac- 
tion. 

Many excellent persons are afraid of the 
liherality of the day, and of the assumed expan- 
sion of intellectual manifestation with which it 

s 2 



260 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

stands connected. It is with them almost a 
proof of heterodoxy, if sentiments like the 
above are avowed : and to impugn the long re- 
ceived opinions as to the reality of apparitions, 
is placed to the account of a restless desire to 
be over-wise, and to explain natural phenomena 
without the intervention of a superintending 
Providence. But this is unfair, and inconse- 
quential : for the more intimately we become 
acquainted with the rationale of the operations of 
God in the works of nature, the more must the 
heart be affected with the wisdom, and know- 
ledge, and power, and goodness, and love, 
displayed in the endless and exquisite contri- 
vances of his infinite mercy ; and the more will 
it rest with confidence on the moral agency of 
this all-perfect Being, and be prepared to serve 
him with full purpose of heart, and to receive 
with meekness and obedience the revelation of 
his will. 

On the contrary, it requires the most inordi- 
nate stretch of imagination, to believe all the 
histories of apparitions with which our ears are 
assailed. Yet if the correctness of one tale be 
admitted, it will naturally be asked, why not 
believe all, since all rest upon the same basis, 
namely, human testimony ? This basis, however, 
unless where the testimony is full, and above 



CHAPTER XIII. 261 

the possibility of mistake or error, is not a safe 
foundation for belief, since it is liable to be 
acted upon by so many prejudices, that its re- 
sults are often erroneous, and demand the 
closest scrutiny. That is a species of spurious 
charity which affects a great degree of tender- 
ness for the reports of individuals so circum- 
stanced, while it estimates as very little worth 
the explanations of reason and science; and the 
declared experience, not of those who have 
never seen apparitions, but of those who, 
having seen them as much as their more credu- 
lous neighbours^ have not been deluded into a 
belief of their reality, but have been enabled to 
account for them upon physical principles. 

Surely the voice of reason and reflection, 
aided by the experience of the great majority 
of mankind, and supported by the known laws 
of physical temperament, as they affect the 
manifestations of mind, deserve an equal share 
of attention with the clamours of the illiterate, 
and the representations of the prejudiced few, 
in whom predominant fear has superseded the 
sober realities of life, and converted the effects 
of a morbid brainular condition, into an imagin- 
ary creation, which, by its hold upon the feel- 
ings, and by its powerful appeal to the passions, 
has carried the mind out of itself, has cast 



262 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION, 

away the anchor of sober reasoning, and has 
placed it in an ocean of conflicting elements, 
where it has ceased to be mistress of its own 
actions, and where it has yielded the helm of 
thought to the direction and government of the 
fancy. 

And when to this part of the argument is 
added the fact, that the existence and agency 
of a supreme Superintending Power, is not 
called in question, but that his ways are jus" 
tified, surely a very strong case is made out in 
favour of the hypothesis, that the supposed spi- 
ritual agency is for the most part ascribable to 
the action and operation of physical causes. 
And yet such is now the case. The providence of 
God is universally diffused ; and so far as we 
can trace its ways, we find its actions governed 
by some Jixed principles, and operating through 
the medium of natural means : therefore we do 
not expect an interference with the ordinary 
course by which he governs nature, except 
upon some occasion which would be of suffi- 
cient importance to account for such a devia- 
tion. 

In the moral government of the universe, we 
find the same employment oi moral means. The 
moral law is promulgated as the will of God 
for the guidance of his creatures ; and grace 



CHAPTER XIII. 263 

and strength are promised to those who seek 
them ; the Holy Spirit to those who ask ; the 
power and blessing of the Most High to such 
as diligently wait upon him in the way of his 
appointment. Then again, a great reward is 
promised to the righteous, to those who keep 
his laws, not as an act of merit, but as they are 
enabled to do so by the grace and strength 
vouchsafed in the employment of the prescribed 
means. The mansions of the blessed are pre- 
pared for those who hear the voice of the Great 
Shepherd, obey and follow him; the crown of 
glory is given to him that overcometh ; the wel- 
come reception of *' Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world," is reserved 
for those who had given food to the hungry, 
and drink to the thirsty ; and had received the 
strangers and the houseless, clothed the naked, 
visited and succoured the sick and the wretched, 
and had extended aid to every form of misery, 
not simply to that which obtruded itself upon 
their notice, but which was by circumstances 
concealed from view. ** Inasmuch as ye have 
done it," says Christ, *' unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." 

Again, they who appear with white robes, 
with palms in their hands, are they " who have 



264 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

come out of much tribulation, and have washed 
their robes and made them white in the blood 
of the Lamb ; therefore are they before the 
throne of God, and serve him day and night in 
his temple." God is a God of love, infinite in 
compassion, and of tender mercy ; his invita- 
tions and urgent entreaties to sinners to turn 
unto him are unbounded. But in all these in- 
stances an appeal is made to the moral constitu- 
tion of maris mind. And it is evident, that the 
Almighty long-suffering Jehovah sees fit to act 
rather upon the hopes than the fears of his crea- 
tures, so that the denunciations of his ven- 
geance are only upon the finally impenitent. 
Yet no mention is made of supernatural agency; 
of deviations from the ordinary course of nature, 
or the revealed will of God ; or of spiritual in- 
fluence, except through the medium of moral 
means, and providential circumstances. 

It is upon these that the mind should be 
fixed for the purpose of extracting a lesson of 
usefulness : here are to be found every where 
the traces of a supreme and Superintending 
Power of infinite goodness, and wisdom, and 
mercy ; it is here that the ways of God to man 
are justified, and that he is left without excuse, 
if he refuses to receive Christ, and to obey his 
laws; whereas, if the reins be once given to 



CHAPTER XTII. 265 

imagination, every kind of alleged supernatural 
influence must be admitted j every variety of 
vision, all the Protean forms of dreaming, every 
supposed apparition, all the voices that have 
ever been heard, all the chosen offspring of 
enthusiasm, all the unexplained lights and 
shades, all the contentions of good and evil 
spirits for the mastery, and every other creation 
of superstition, must be received as spiritual 
agents ; the mind is lost in the wildest and 
most unlimited speculation; and^ to say the 
very least, it has no means of judging whether 
the apparition has been produced to answer a 
good end, or only to deceive through the malig- 
nant influence of the arch-fiend. 

Besides, so many instances have occurred in 
which no conceivable good could have been 
produced, that we are justified, even on this 
ground, in believing that such supernatural 
agency, or rather supposed agency, is incon- 
sistent with the ordinary course of God^s most 
perfect providence, and therefore is not lightly 
to be believed. When, moreover, a natural ex- 
planation can be found, for that which is not 
conceivable without much difficulty upon any 
other principle, it is the duty of the Christian, 
humbly to accept such explanation ; especially 
when it off'ers a beautiful exposition of how far 



266 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the spiritual principle is modified in its mani- 
festations, by the debasing influence of that 
primeval Fall, which separated man from his 
Maker, and occasioned the loss of the image of 
God upon his heart; by which he became '*very 
far gone from original righteousness," and " the 
servant of sin." 

So far then from impugning the wisdom, res- 
training the power, or limiting the agency of 
Omnipotence, by withdrawing it from the sha- 
dowy wand of superstition, his perfect know- 
ledge, and his holy operation, are vindicated 
from the unhallowed creations of mortality; 
the vagaries of imagination are distinguished 
from the suggestion of his Spirit ; the influence 
of the Word of God, and of that unwritten 
word which is found in the heart and conscience 
of every man, is defined and separated from 
those words, and that influence, which result 
from a disordered state of the animal fibre. 
Hope and fear, joy and sorrow, desire and love, 
obedience and transgression, are snatched from 
the dominion of supernatural influence, and are 
placed on a just basis ; namely, the grace of 
God, which bringeth salvation through our Lord 
Jesus Christ, revealed to us by his word, and 
by his providence, and received or rejected by 
the sinner. 



CHAPTER XIII. 267 

In fact, the]/ only impugn the power of Omni- 
potence who question the agency upon spiritual 
mind, of its organic mtdium of manifestation ; and 
who doubt, nay deny, that disorder of this 
material medium may be, or rather must be, 
followed by defective, or excessive, or perverted 
manifestation; who deny, in fact, that 'primary 
or sympathetic irritation of the brain is insuffi- 
cient to account for the appearances in ques- 
tion ; as if it were not in the power of Almighty 
God, to make as it hath pleased him an organ 
for this very purpose, and for the reception and 
communication of moral cause and effect. Let 
the humble and sincere Christian constantly 
lift his heart in adoration and gratitude to that 
beneficent Creator and Lawgiver, who preserves 
from disorder a function of such exquisite deli- 
cacy, and possessed of such fearful interest. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Influence of nitrous-oxyde gas on the brain; — agency of bel- 
ladonna, stramonium, opium, hemlock, fox-glove, &c. — 
Various illustrative cases. — Influence of several mental 
excitants in the creation of apparitions. 

The influence of the nitrous-oxyde gas has been 
alluded to in this discussion, and it has been 
represented as capable of producing a state of 
the cerebral system, peculiarly favourable to 
the production of so-called apparitions. And 
this is true to a certain extent, inasmuch as it 
occasions that incipient morbid action which 
has been shown to be prolific of spectral visions 
and imaginings : but the more important truth 
has not been mentioned ; namely, that the 
effect of this article varies according to the 
peculiarity of physical temperament, or to the 
varying condition of that temperament at the 
moment. 



CHAPTER XIV. 269 

Thus it affords an excellent exposition of two 
principles ; first, as to the creation of appari- 
tions, and unreal images, from a cause operating 
exclusively on the brain and nervous system ; 
and next, that the specific character of these 
imaofes, arisino^ from the same source of cerebral 
irritation, will vary according to the expression 
of predominant constitution ; or to its fluctuating 
state at the time of receiving the morbid sti- 
mulus ; nay more, that, the peculiar tempera- 
ment of the individual being given, the precise 
effect may be calculated beforehand. 

Now the effect of inhaling the nitrous-oxyde 
gas will differ upon half a dozen specimens of 
the same creature, man. One shall be out- 
rageously joyous and happy ; another shall be 
excited to the most incredible muscular efforts, 
till he sinks subdued by exhaustion ; a third 
shall exhibit the common symptoms of intoxi- 
cation, after the first effects of alcoholic sti- 
mulus have passed; a fourth will lose all power 
of volition and apparent consciousness, will 
seem abstracted from this world, and will tell 
of blissful visions ; and a fifth will sink into a 
state of stupid reverie, from which it is impos- 
sible to recal him, and from which he wakens in 
total oblivion of the interval between inhaling 
the gas, and his return to consciousness; and all 



270 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

these varying effects will have been produced in 
a few seconds. 

Moreover, in all these variations of morbid 
action, there may be, according to the peculiar 
excitation or depression of the brainular system, 
the creation of unreal images or apparitions, 
which shall be presented to the patient with all 
the energy and vividness of truth. And further, 
this state is e^Tceedingly transient, and will soon 
give way to a languid condition, arising from 
the feebleness consequent upon morbid excite- 
ment ; and presently, to the resumption of the 
usual mental manifestations. But, if we trace 
all these effects to the influence of one physical 
agent operating upon the brain, and if we know 
that there are others of a similar, though not 
identical nature, it is not difficult to conceive 
that there may be other mo7^bid states which will 
concur in the production of this particular in- 
fluence. We shall here mention an illustration 
or two of this position. 

A. B. had been taking the extract of bella- 
donna (deadly nightshade,) for a painful affection 
of the nerves of the face. After a few doses had 
been exhibited, I was surprised one morning, 
on finding this lady conducted into the room by 
her servant, because she could not see : the pupil of 
her eye was dilated to the utmost, the retina 



CHAPTER XIV. 271 

paralysed, and natural vision destroyed. Yet 
in this case, varying forms of exceeding loveli- 
ness and beauty, in quick and rapid succession, 
were presented to the mental contemplation. 

This effect was transient, and soon gave way 
to appropriate treatment ; and moreover, my 
patient was a lady of great intelligence, and 
was aware of the cause of these appearances : 
but had she possessed a contracted mind, or 
been ignorant or doubtful as to the physical 
influence under which she laboured, the appa- 
ritions would have been pronounced superna- 
tural ; and the simplest accidental brainular 
phenomena would have been dignified with an 
importance, which ought in justice to be re- 
served for proper occasions, but which in this 
case would have been constituted an object of 
superstitious hope, or fear, or reverence, accord- 
ing to the peculiar physical temperament of 
the patient, and the coincident predominance 
of cheerful, gloomy, or serious modes and 
habits of thought and action. Finally, let it 
be remarked, that in proportion as this morbid 
state subsided, the visions disappeared, and 
were completely gone when the optic nerve had 
thoroughly regained its power. 

C. D. under the influence of stramonium, 
related to me the delight he had experienced 



272 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

from the cessation of pain, from its soothing- 
agency, but detailed, as a great inconvenience 
attending its employment, the numberless and 
grotesque forms and images with which he had 
been assailed during the night ; these having 
become onerous from their constant repetition, 
and often disagreeable from their horrible gri- 
maces. A similar effect has been observed 
from digitalis, aconite, solanum tuberosum, 
hyosciamus, opium, and other narcotic medi- 
cines. With regard to opium, its influence in 
the production of unreal images of persons and 
things, has been well described in the " Con- 
fessions of an Opium Eater;" a little pamphlet, 
which, with much to blame, and much that is 
fanciful, enthusiastic, and sinister about it, pos- 
sesses the merit of being for the 7nost jpart true 
to nature, and particularly as it respects the 
unreal world, into which the miserable patient 
is supposed to have been plunged by its opera- 
tion. 

The case of E. F. is an example of a very 
frequent state, that of a young person in the 
last stage of consumption, who on her death- 
bed became the subject of many blissful visions, 
when under the influence of the physical effects 
of opium. It has been before remarked, how 
greatly the associated manifest ations of mind 



CHAPTER XTV. 273 

are characterized by the peculiar organ which 
forms the point of irritation to the brain ; and 
it has been mentioned, that in consumption of 
the lungs, the passion of hope generally predo- 
minates, and clings to the patient, even to the 
last expiring gasp, if the morbid actions be 
confined to that viscus ; and then it is, that an 
excited state of the brain will occasion the pro- 
duction of angelic forms, which would have 
been exchanged for, or associated with;, demons 
or other apparitions of terrific mien, had the sto- 
mach or liver been the primary source of mis- 
chief, or had disorder of these latter organs 
been combined with disease of the former. 

The case just referred to was ascribed to super- 
natural spiritual agency ; but it had clearly a bo- 
dily origin, and should have no weight with us in 
forming our estimate of the character, or in 
drawing our inferences of support under the 
trying circumstances of dissolution. The ex- 
cellence of a truly consistent, and eminently 
pious, though highly susceptible, and perhaps 
enthusiastic patient, who *' being dead, yet 
speaketh," will afford to surviving mourners a 
more substantial ground of consolation, than 
the questionable manifestations of mind, under 
the influence of organic irritation, failing power, 
and medicinal agency. 

T 



274 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

A somewhat analogous instance is related in 
*' Past Feelings Renovated," as an extract from 
'' Foreign Scenes and Travelling Recreations," 
by Mr. Howison, in which the extraordinary 
state of the nervous system is traced to the 
influence of tobacco fumes : and this is followed 
by the history of a German student, who volun- 
tarily subjected himself to the agency of hem- 
lock, foxglove, deadly nightshade, and other 
narcotic herbs, for the purpose of obtaining the 
enjoyments arising from the *' flood of ideas and 
images of the most vivid, wonderful, and tremen- 
dous description;" which resulted, as he sup- 
posed, from having '* partaken of a superhuman 
state of existence," but, in reality, from irrita- 
tion of the brain. 

Only let these facts be duly and dispassion- 
ately weighed, and it will be impossible to re- 
sist the conclusion, that alleged supernatural 
appearances and visions may be produced by 
the employment of medicine, occasioning a 
peculiar influence upon the brain ; this action 
partaking of the nature of disease, — in other 
words, becoming cerebral irritation. But if so, 
it will follow, that many phenomena usually 
ascribed to spiritual agency may be more cor- 
rectly shown to be depending upon a peculiar 
condition of the body, especially of the brain. 



CHAPTER XIV 275 

Nor is this extraordinary : for since this vis- 
cus is the appointed organ for the manifestation 
of mind; since, as such, it is subjected to the 
general laws affecting organic life ; since sin 
introduced death, and therefore, also that state 
of disease which, by its slow and successive 
accumulations, leads to the dissolution of life; 
^mce general death results from the prior decease 
of one particular organ, which associates with 
itself all the other organs of the body; and 
since the death of any one organ of the body 
will always be preceded by primary or sympa- 
thetic irritation of the brain; it will follow that 
every morbid state is really a result of the sad 
change which has passed upon all men ; and 
that every morbid state affecting the organ of 
mind, will disturb its functions; so that the 
manifestations of the brightest intellect, or of 
the holiest soul, may be impeded, deranged, 
suspended, or stopped in death, by the irri- 
tation of its material medium of communication. 

This point of doctrine is shown by the fol- 
lowing remarkable history : — 

X. Y. Z. about two years since became the 
subject of moral causes^ which harassed him 
exceedingly, and which for a considerable time 
kept up continued irritation of the brain. He 
wanted peace of mind, and his health was un- 

T 2 



276 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

dermined. It should be premised, that X.Y.Z., 
though perhaps what the world might not term 
a very faulty character, was at this time very 
far below the standard of Christian morality, 
and that in fact much of his present annoyance 
arose out of his neglect of the commands of 
God involving him in situations of difficulty. 
One night, after retiring to rest, with these dis- 
turbing causes weighing upon his mind, and 
also certainly not well, he was awakened by the 
impression of hearing a conversation in the 
next house, which related to himself, and to 
the peculiar object of his lengthened solicitude; 
these also were associated with circumstances 
of a highly distressing character. He endea- 
voured, by getting up, to ascertain the truth 
of his impression : all was quiet in the next 
house, and the stillness of night rested upon 
its inhabitants : he returned to bed, but again 
heard the same voices. The remainder of the 
night was passed in no very enviable condition, 
and he went to his duties in the morning. As 
the day wore away, and he was about to re- 
turn to his abode, the voices became loud, and 
threatening destruction to himself; so that he 
was afraid of returning home, lest he should 
have been torn in pieces : his head felt as if on 
fire ; and finally, in order to escape from these 



CHAPTER X]V. 277 

supposed enemies, he fled into the country, 
and Avandered the whole night through the 
fields, and returned to the town where he 
dwelt, the next or the following day, but not 
to his own home ; he obtained a lodging for 
the night elsewhere. Before the usual hour 
of rising in the morning, these voices informed 
him that the house of a friend was to be burned 
down, and he hastened with all the eagerness 
of irresistible impulse to acquaint him with the 
event. Here, however, he was kindly taken 
care of, and the attack subsided in a few days. 
At this time, X. Y. Z. was not under the 
influence of religious motive or impression ; 
and indeed, as has been stated, his conduct 
was not strictly consistent even with the out- 
ward requirements of the Decalogue. A little 
afterwards, and when again he was conscious 
of being more particularly poorly, he took a 

walk to (I suppress particular references), 

and was hurried into the fields by an impulse 
he knew not how to controul. Here a voice 
proclaimed to him, as from the clouds, that the 
millennial reign of Christ on earth had com- 
menced, and that in that very spot the city of 
redemption would be built. At this time, he 
saw the forms of many whom he believed to be 
the happy spirits of the dead. He was directed 



278 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

to kneel down and say his prayers, which he 
did. He was told to be charitable, and he 
obeyed this command by indiscriminately giving 
away the money he had in his pocket, to a 
crowd of persons upon the road, which his ex- 
traordinary manner had gathered round him. 
On the same occasion, he was directed to re- 
pair to a heath at some distance from his abode, 
to meet the spirit of his father, at eleven o'clock 
that night. He attended also to this summons, 
but when there, be began to consider the late- 
ness of the hour, and that he would be unable 
to return to his lodgings, and must pass the 
night upon the heath ; and the voice told him 
it was enough, and that he might return home. 

At another time, he was told to read his 
Bible, to go to church, and to be more atten- 
tive to religious duties, and he was so for a 
short time only ; for this effect soon passed 
away. 

On a late occasion, he again heard the voice 
as from heaven, assuring him that his sins were 
forgiven ; and indeed it has pleased God of his 
infinite mercy, to effect (by means of affliction) 
a most happy change in his life and conversa- 
tion ; his views are well defined ; and his mo- 
tives and conduct are irreproachable, while his 
only hope for safety is in Christ. 



CHAPTER XIV. 279 

X. Y. Z. now became a most diligent student 
of the Bible, and considers that he every where 
finds proofs in support of his manner of ac- 
counting for these impressions. He often hears 
the voices of deceased relatives and friends, 
and recognizes them by the sound. He con- 
stantly hears his own thoughts repeated by 
voices in the air. Upon the whole, these 
voices have exerted a beneficial influence 
upon him, and have generally told him to do 
what is right, and to avoid what is wrong. But 
this has not always been the case : and there 
seem to him to be two kinds of voices, and that 
these are opposed to each other; the one teach- 
ing him to do w4iat is right, the other assailing 
him by contradictions, and by the most horrid 
imprecations ; so that he conceives himself to 
be the subject of contention between good and 
evil spirits, for the mastery over him ; and in 
confirmation of this view, he appeals to the 
change wrought in him, as evidence of the 
supreme power of Christ. These voices some- 
times proceed from the air, sometimes from 
one part of the room, sometimes from another, 
and sometimes from his own body. The air he 
inhales appears to convey a sound, and to im- 
press audibly, but to this there are no rational 
words attached. When he is inclined to do 



280 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

» 

wrong, the good voice seems to warn him, and 
to become troublesome ; and on the other 
hand, there is an expression of conscious satis- 
faction from well-doing. On one occasion, the 
voice exhorted him to persevere in the Christian 
course ; the opposing voice advised him to 
hang himself: sometimes a sustained dialogue 
will be kept up for a considerable time, and 
the thoughts which are suggested appear to 
him to be th.e production of another, not his own. 
At some periods, the opposing voice is very 
onerous and oppressive to him, and he becomes 
ii^ritable and disposed to quarrel with it; and 
when this has been the case, he invariably 
suffers for it, and the voice becomes more trouble- 
some. 

Moreover, X. Y. Z. often sees an appearance 
in the air, as of a great number of eyes, and 
evidently contemplates these as ministering 
spirits. Some little time since, he was di- 
rected to visit a gentleman, and to inform him 
that his father's spirit had warned him to ac- 
quaint his son, that the millennium had com- 
menced, and to exhort him to be religious. 
Again, he sleeps well for some hours on first 
retiring to rest, and is not disturbed; but 
when he wakens he hears the voices, which 
render him uneasy till he rises. There ap- 



CHAPTER XIV. 281 

pears to be a kind of dissatisfaction on the 
part of these attendant voices, unless he gets 
up ; and this has made him an early riser. 

Finally, this patient, of whom only a very 
feeble outline has been sketched, has remarked 
that he hears voices more when his health is 
disordered^ and that they are more troublesome 
during an electrical state of the atmosphere ; 
facts which he has noticed notwithstanding 
his own belief of the theological nature of his 
case. I must make a few remarks on this 
interesting case ; and shall notice, 

First, its physical origin ; 

Secondly, its happy influence upon the cha- 
racter; and. 

Thirdly, distinguish between this state, and 
any instance of recorded analogous conversion. 

1. The physical origin of this state is shown 
by a consideration of its circumstances. 

In its commencement, there had been no an- 
tecedent religious impression ; but, on the con- 
trary^ continued and distracting anxiety arising 
from mental causes of a sinful complexion 
This solicitude had pressed upon his bosom, 
and had produced irritation of the nervous 
system to such an extent as to undermine the 
general health. Then, and not till then, he was 
awakened from sleep {not impressed while awake); 



282 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

during which state there naturally occurs a 
certain degree of congestion in the vessels of 
the brain, increased of necessity in the present 
instance by the preceding irritation of that 
organ, with the sound of voices, and a sus- 
tained conversation relating to himself, and to 
the situation on which he was placed. These 
proceeded apparently from the next house ; 
and he proved at once, so far as proof could 
be obtained, that they were sensorial illusions. 
In this state of the brain, however, when it has 
escaped the controul of the presiding spirit, 
the mind is not capable of Jij^ing even upon de- 
monstration, and therefore returns to its own 
morbid trains. 

The same state of cerebral irritation continu- 
ing, he himself became the object of these 
threatening voices ; he was afraid of returning 
home; his head felt as if on Jire ; and in this 
state of brainular excitation he wandered into 
the country, and into the fields, without any 
other object than to escape from this imaginary 
destruction. He returned to town after a day 
or two; and the same morbid action continuing, 
another illusion (first also occurring during the 
night) occupied his attention, accompanied by 
the same eager, impulsive, characteristic de- 
sire to secure his friend's escape from the 



CHAPTER XIV. 283 

threatened calamity. At this period of his 
history, he was placed under medical super- 
vision ; and by great quiet, cupping, and me- 
dicine, this attack subsided in a few days. Up 
to this time no particular turn had been given 
to his views, and there is no room for supposing 
supernatural agency. 

The same causes of cerebral irritation still ex- 
isting, and the health having again become more 
disordered, his malady assumed a new feature. 
The same kind of irresistible impulse still at- 
tended his actions ; but his views and feelings 
now began to put on a religious character, — - 
yet with the same marked disturbance of the 
brain and its functions ; witness the occurrences 
at , and on the heath. 

He hears the voices of deceased friends, and 
recognises them by their sound, showing at once 
the influence of a recollected impression, and also 
proving the existence of a physical state of 
brainular excitation. Again ; he hears his own 
thoughts repeated by voices in the air, showing 
once more the presence of sensorial illusion. 
These voices sometimes proceed from different 
parts of a room ; sometimes from the air ; and 
at others from his own body : thus attaching 
physical attributes to the supposed spiritual 



284 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

agency, and again proclaiming sensorial illusion, 
A modification of this same state, unattended 
by articulate sounds, and arising from the at- 
mosphere as it is inhaled, still further eluci- 
dates the morbid susceptibility to sensation of 
the nervous system. When he becomes irri- 
table and disposed to quarrel with this trouble- 
some voice, that is, v^henever the brain is ad- 
ditionally excited, the voices become more 
troublesome. Again ; he occasionally sees an 
appearance as of a great number of eyes in the 
sky, supposing these to be ministering spirits J 
thus retaining a physical form, but not requir- 
ing their spiritual agency. Farther; up to a 
very recent period, he was warned to visit a 
gentleman, and to inform him, by the desire of 
his father's spirit, that the millennial reign of 
Christ upon earth had commenced ; thus show- 
ing a continuance of the original morbid trains, 
and of the same impulsive character; only that 
they are now modified by a mind deeply im- 
bued with religious principles. 

Lastly; he always hears the voices more 
when his health is more particularly disor- 
dered ; or during the existenceof a highly elec- 
trical state of the atmosphere. 

Only let these circumstances be duly con- 



CHAPTER XIV. 285 

sidered,and surely none will doubt the physical 
origin of these voices ; but should they do so 
let them attend. 

Secondly, to the happy influence of this 
state upon the heart, and upon the character. 
By what means was this effected ? 

These circumstances of fearful impression 
induced him to pause, and to consider, to look 
back on his past life, and forward to futurity, 
and the broken law of God ; and to listen to the 
" still small voice" of heavenly wisdom. Thus 
it pleased God, through the influence of his 
sorrows, to awaken him to a sense of his lost 
and ruined state, and to enable him, by his 
Holy Spirit, to lay hold of the hope, set before 
him in the Gospel, of a crucified Saviour. But 
the physical disordered manifestation still con- 
tinuing, his impression of forgiveness arose, 
not so much from the believing sense of an inte- 
rest in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, as from 
having heard it proclaimed from heaven that his 
sins were forgiven. He had become the subject 
of the converting grace of God ; he really be- 
lieved in Christ; felt that he was healed of the 
plague of sin ; and this feeling was repeated in 
common with almost all his thoughts by a voice 
from heaven. From this time a real change of 
heart and life had taken place; and he now 



286 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

read his Bible diligently, and became, it is 
trusted, a new man in Christ Jesus, renewed 
by the Spirit of his grace. 

Upon the whole, these voices have been be- 
neficial to him ; but this has not always been 
the case. Here, again, he who has begun a 
good work, will carry it on until the day of 
the Lord Jesus ; but the influence of remain- 
ing corruption, acting also upon a state of ce- 
rebral irritation, has tempted him to forget God, 
and to commit sin ; and the Christian's struggle 
between the influence of better principles im- 
planted, and of evil principles not yet subdued, 
has been going on : only that his morbid phy- 
sical state has induced him to ascribe this to 
peculiar spiritual agency, rather than to the or- 
dinary operations of the Spirit of God, in the 
heart of a sinner awakened, convinced, par- 
doned, but still imperfect. 

The approbation or reproof of an enlightened 
conscience will sufficiently explain the uneasy 
feelings produced by listening to the tempta- 
tion to do wrong ; and the strength obtained 
for time to come by the successful wish and ef- 
fort to do right, and to imitate the Saviour. 

Thirdly ; it remains to show the distinctive 
characters of this state, and a recorded instance 
of miraculous conversion, lest some fearful 



CHAPTER XIV. 287 

Christian might suppose that that change upon 
St. Paul might be referred also to physical causes, 
and thus might be produced an apprehension 
lest the records of Scripture should be im- 
pugned. But the conversion of St. Paul was 
miraculous. He was a chosen vessel unto God, 
to bear his name before the Gentiles^ and kings, 
and the people of Israel ; therefore the perse- 
cutor was arrested in his maddening course by 
a voice from heaven, '* Saul, Saul, why perse- 
cutest thou me ?" And the effect was worthy 
such an immediate interference of the all-pow- 
erful Creator ; for he, trembling and astonished, 
stood a monument of the power of Divine grace, 
converted from the error of his way, and ex- 
claiming, in the language of penitent and be- 
lieving supplication, *' Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do V' And the result of this mira- 
cle was, that ** straightway he preached Christ 
in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God." 
How essentially different in all its circum- 
stances and effects are the two events ! In the 
first place, though the conversion of a sinner is 
at all times a miracle of Divine grace, the age 
of miraculous conversion has passed by ; it is no 
longer required ; the ordinary operations of the 
Spirit of God, by his word, by his ordinances, 
and by his providential arrangements, have su- 



288 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

perseded the extraordinary operations of the 
early ages of the history of the church of Christ; 
just as the ordinary ministers of the Gospel 
have taken the place of the extraordinary mi- 
nisters of the apostolic age. Such a deviation 
from the ordinary course of God^s moral go- 
vernment is no longer required ; and therefore 
an occasion for such interference has not been 
established. 

But the objects of the alleged similar cases 
were totally different; in the instance of St. Paul, 
there was an immediate, but rational, appeal to 
the conscience of the persecutor, and a convic- 
tion of sin, and a humble dependance upon 
Divine grace as its consequence. In the case 
now mentioned, there is no such rational con- 
viction of sin, no revelation of an offended God 
reconciled to rebellious man in the person of 
Christ ; no exhibition of the sacrifice of the 
Saviour; no invitation to look unto him and be 
saved ; but a barren intimation that the millen- 
nial reign of Christ upon earth had commenced^ 
instead of the application of the atoning blood 
of Christ to the heart ; a communication that 
there the city of redemption would be built, 
instead of leading the sinner to the only city of 
refuge, and bringing him to seek for the pardon 
of his sins, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 



CHAPTER KIV. 298 

Not only, therefore, is this narrative deficient 
in those attributes which would constitute it a 
divine agency, but it possesses evidences which 
take it for ever from such a supposition. In 
the first place, it wants the holy character of 
immutable truth ; for however we may have the 
happiness of living in the latter days of the 
Christian church, yet, without entering upon 
the question of the precise nature of the millen- 
nial glory of Christ, it may be safely said, that 
it has not commenced. Moreover the localiza- 
tion of the '* city of redemption," the new Jeru- 
salem, is another evidence of this w^ant of 
truth ; and a proof that the supposed revelation 
could not have been given by the God of Truth. 

That it was entirely a physical state is shown, 
in the first place, by this perversion of religious 
truth ; by the preceding state of ill health ; by 
the forms of happy spirits which were seen on 
this occasion, and which proved the brain to be 
in that state of peculiar excitation in which ap- 
paritions are seen ; and by the subsequent de- 
lusive occurrences on the heath. 

Once more : that this could not claim a di- 
vine origin ; and consequently, that it has no 
claim for comparison with the miraculous con- 
version of St. Paul, is shown by the effects 

u 



290 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

which followed, as well as by those which were 
wanting. 

The effects which followed were, indiscrimi- 
nate charity, and the interview with his father's 
spirit. Now charity is a very proper evidence 
of love to God, but then it must be as a fruit of 
faith : and it will select its objects, so as to re- 
lieve misery and promote the glory of God ; 
not add to that desecration of his sacred name 
and holy laws, which must arise from indiscri- 
minate almsgiving to a multitude collected by 
the strangeness of manner of the patient. Here 
is the impulsive action of physical irritation — 
not the humble seeking of the glory of Christ 
by the new convert ; he was beginning with the 
evidence rather than with the principle. 

But again ; he was warned to meet the 
spirit of his father on the heath : and here, 
probably from diminished cerebral irritation, 
arising from fatigue, and still more perhaps 
from the impression of cold air, he began to 
consider the lateness of the hour, &c. ; and then 
was told_, that it was enough, and that he might 
return home ; that is, he considered this in his 
own mind, and then, by the physical delusion 
which has followed him ever since, his own 
thoughts were repeated to him from the clouds. 



CHAPTER XIV. 291 

and, as he verily then believed, were revealed 
to him. 

But the effects which should have followed, 
and which were wanting, prove that it was not 
a special exertion of divine power. It was nU 
followed by the conversion of the sinner ; for, 
however this change occurred afterwards, under 
the ordinary teaching of the Divine Spirit, and 
in the use of the ordinary means of grace, it did 
not result at that time from this supposed ex- 
traordinary revelation : so that, if it were 
allowed to be miraculous, the rniracle would 
have been produced without a corresponding 
result ; the exertion of divine power would 
have been in vain ; — a result so utterly incon- 
sistent with reason and revelation, that we 
may safely deny the premises which lead 
to it. 

And lastly: at another time, subsequent to 
this, he was told to read his Bible, to go to 
church, and to be more attentive to religious 
duties — all which he did for a short time only ; 
for this influence soon passed away, and he 
remained indifferent, till really called by Him 
who is mighty to save, and made willing in the 
day of His power. 

How earnestly, therefore, should the Christian 

u2 



292 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

strive against every physical and moral cause 
which might occasion this perversion ; and 
vv^hat a source of consolation should it be to 
him under the impression of infirmities, against 
v^hich he daily and continually struggles, that 
our omniscient Judge and Saviour knows our 
frame, and is touched with the feeling of our 
infirmities ; remaining always, under every 
changing scene, the same unchangeable God; 
'* faithful to save," almighty to rule and com- 
mand ! *' For we have not an high priest which 
cannot be touched with the feeling of our in- 
firmities ; but was in all points tempted (tried) 
like as we are, yet without sin. Let us^ there- 
fore, come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, 
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
help in every time of need." 

But we proceed to state, that the histories of 
apparitions may be accounted for on the princi- 
ple of cerebral irritation arising from a morbid 
impression, primarily made either upon the 
viind or the body. 

First, upon the mind. — Some may be traced 
to the influence of any dogma of superstitious 
belief impressed upon the mental organ in 
early childhood, and recalled in after life, under 
circumstances of cerebral excitation, with an 



CHAPTER XIV. 293 

unwonted and unnatural degree of vividness. 
It is probable that the recollection of an im- 
pression is proportioned to its pristine inten- 
sity ; to the attention which it receives at the 
time, and to the manifold feelings with which it 
is subsequently associated. And if so, first 
impressions are of the greatest consequence, 
because their intensity is proportioned to their 
novelty and freshness : they receive an undi- 
vided attention ; and they operate upon a mind 
unbiassed by prejudice, unsophisticated by the 
cold and selfish calculations of after-life, and at 
a time when mental manifestation is charac- 
terized by the desire of sensation and by a cra- 
ving after ejccitement. 

Granting this to be the case, the impressions 
of early childhood are of the first consequence : 
because, although many years may have elapsed 
since they were first made, and although after- 
wards they may have apparently faded from 
memory; still they will be revived by some 
accidental association, and with all the energy 
of first feeling : so that they will have acquired 
a power over the judgment and the will, which 
will stimulate these faculties to action, render 
them unsafe guides to conduct, and prepare 
them for the influence of morbid trains of 



294 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

thought, and for the creation of unreal images 
of terror. 

Besides, it is the nature of the organ upon 
which these impressions are made, that they do 
not weaken by the lapse of time, and by the 
common effect of distance in diminishing influ- 
ence; but that they re-appear with pristine 
vigour, perhaps even with augmented power, 
however long may have been the interval: and 
therefore it is that the brain does not super- 
sede the eflects of early over-excitement. 

A little friend of mine, not at all remarkable 
for timidity of character, passes the commence- 
ment of his nights in sleepless horror, from a 
morbid disposition to the production of unreal 
images. It is also remarked, that this horror is 
greatly influenced by the character of his read- 
ing during the preceding day. When this has 
been powerfully excitant, especially if it has 
been some interesting fiction, the tendency is 
increased, and for the plainest reason : — the 
mind has been engaged upon the absolute 
creation of unreal images, and has been over- 
excited ; all goes on tolerably well, so long as 
the courage imparted by society, action, day- 
light, and employment, operate in sustaining 
the mind; but when these are abstracted, name- 



CHAPTER XIV. 295 

less fear predominates : and although he retires 
to bed with the resolution of a hero, physical 
irritability, terror, and cowardice, soon vanquish 
a better principle ; and the result is, that the 
phantoms of brainular creation drive him from 
his pillow to the day-nursery, and to the pro- 
tection of his attendants. And this is not a 
singular instance, even within my own mode- 
rately extensive observation. 

Who is there that has not listened with in- 
tense interest to fairy tales — to tales of the 
genii — enchanted castles — supernatural aid — 
or the history of giants, — till he has expected 
to find a ghost at his elbow, and has been 
afraid to look behind him, from the apprehen- 
sion of some unearthly visitant ; till he has 
trembled at his shadow, or the sound of his own 
motions ? Who is there that will not confess 
to have experienced the excessive excitement 
of works of fiction, — delighted, perhaps, in the 
interest produced, — -an interest amounting to 
palpitation and breathless anxiety for some 
imaginary distress? and yet who has not traced 
that the effect of this excitement was to unnerve 
him ? to predispose him to entertain and to 
create situations of danger, and to people them 
with imaginary beings, of unknown agency, and 
immense though undefined power ? Let this 



2% ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

operate as a warning against the indulgence of 
an excessive and unhallowed taste for reading 
of this description. 

Fiction in general, nay, even religious fiction, 
produces this effect upon the mind in the early 
habit of creating imaginary personages. This 
impression and its consequent habit, will never 
be lost ; but in after-life, under favourable cir- 
cumstances, will be recalled, and will form one 
basis for the belief in apparitions. — A friend of 
mine, very lately, and during the early stages 
of the important discussion which has just so 
happily closed on the subject of Catholic con- 
cession, told me, that he had seen a lady in an 
agony of terror, which had caused many sleep- 
less hours, — not arising from a consideration 
of the really fearful points of the question, 
but from an actual injury inflicted upon the 
sensorium in early life, by a sight of the ter- 
rible pictures in the Book of Martyrs; the 
recollection of which, with all its associated 
horrors, was ready to be called up afresh 
upon the first application of any exciting 
cause. This law is sufficiently well known ; 
and did we need a proof of this assertion — 
the exhibition of a transparency setting forth 
the burning of Bishop Latimer, during a recent 
memorable electioneering contest, would be 



CHAPTER XIV. 297 

sufficient to show that this power of awakening 
terrific images, after the days of childhood had 
passed by, had not been overlooked by those 
who had an object, doubtless in their view a 
laudable one, to accomplish. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Influence of brainular disease on the function of volition :— 
appearance of departed spirits to distant friends; — other 
supernatural appearances ; — various illustrative cases. 

I PROCEED to notice cerebral irritation arising 
from bodilij causes, as another source of spectral 
appearances. 

But before I advance further on the subject, 
it will be desirable to mention two or three 
instances of disordered mental manifestation^ 
particularly impairing the energ3^ of the func- 
tion of volition, and depending upon physical 
causes. 

A. B. possessed by inheritance what is 
called a highly nervous or sensitive constitution, 
that is, a system in which susceptibility to im- 
pression largely predominates. For a moment 
let the meaning of these terms be enquired 
after. Do they mean that such was the nature 



CHAPTER XV. 299 

of the spiritual principle ; or do they express 
some quality of the organ through which its 
manifestations are perceived ? It is almost 
an offence against the common sense of my 
readers to ask the question, since the very terms 
employed, lead the attention to a bodily origin. 
Upon a mental and corporeal system thus con- 
stituted, causes of anxiety, distress, and dis- 
appointment began to operate, and to supply 
a constant source of irritation; the bodily 
health gave way ; prostration of strength and 
loss of energy of volition were the consequence, 
to such an extent as to amount, in the patient's 
own expressive terms, '' almost to a change of 
nature" — the more painfully felt, because he is 
aware of the necessity and duty of exertion. 

A. B. has been subject to a white, dry 
tongue in the morning — in fact, to the peculiar 
tongue of cerebral irritation^ to unrefreshing 
sleep, and to a lassitude which unfitted him 
for any exertion for more than half the day ; 
he dreams a great deal, and instead of awak- 
ing in peace, to a sense of activity, and to the 
immediate possession of all his powers and 
faculties, he is some time in shaking off un- 
pleasant impressions, and teaching himself to 
look to the cheerful side of circumstances. 
The powers of digestion are feeble, and there 



300 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

is often a peculiar craving, after taking food. 
Doubtless these synriptoms result from the 
deficient supply of nervous energy to the sto- 
mach ; but if we took the other view of the 
subject, and considered the stomach as the 
Jirst link in the chain of irritation, we should 
still arrive intermediately at the same physical 
origin of the disordered mental manifestation. 
It is to be remarked also, that the disorder of 
stomach is always in proportion to the call for 
mmtal exertion. 

The indications in the case of A. B. were to 
attend to the general health, improve the di- 
gestion, remove sources of irritation, find re- 
gular employment and exercise for body and 
mind, and strengthen the function of volition, 
so as to supersede that vacillation of the will, 
which has been so strongly marked in a con- 
stant changefulness of purpose. Sufficient 
time has not yet been given to ascertain how 
far this may be completely removable ; but 
as far as the experiment has been tried, it has 
been attended by a flattering prospect of suc- 
cess. This case admirably illustrates the na- 
tural connexion between body and mind. 

CD. became the subject of a severe apo- 
plectic seizure, which threatened his existence, 
but from which he slowly and difficultly re- 



CHAPTER XV. 301 

covered. During his tedious convalescence, 
he was affected with mental agitations of the 
most terrific kind ; he was assailed by a variety 
of delusive images ; he was haunted by the 
presence of individuals which produced agony 
of fear ; and he frequently called upon his at- 
tendants to destroy him, or to furnish him with 
the means of destroying himself. He slowly re- 
gained his health of body and peace of mind ; 
he is now, although feeble, as cheerful as is 
his natural character, and cherishes existence 
with the care of one who is sensible of the 
value of the boon. 

An objector will perhaps say, here was a 
case of violent disease which will abundantly 
account for the disordered manifestations of 
mind. Yet if it be allowed, that in this in- 
stance disordered manifestations of mind are 
to be accounted for by the existence of cere- 
bral disease, what perversion of 7xasoning can 
interfere with the conclusion, that other morbid 
brainular states, of a less violent character, 
may destroy the integrity and harmony of 
mental operation ? Surely none, which does not 
itself originate in disease! If it be granted that 
cerebral disease does ever produce disordered 
mental manifestations, nothing can supersede 
the conclusion that it may do so always; al- 



302 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

though man remains minutely responsible for 
his conduct, because the brain is the servant of 
the spiritual principle, until disease has advanced 
so far as to obliterate the power of reason and 
volition ; and then insanity is produced. 

Once more : E. F. has been subjected to 
great alternations of high spirits, or of hypo- 
chondriasis; and the latter state has been al- 
ways accompanied with more or less disorder 
of the general system. He has a prescriptive 
title to cerebral excitement ; and his talents 
have placed him in a rank of literary eminence. 
During the period of depression, so different 
was the aspect of circumstances, that he could 
not believe they were the same as they ap- 
peared to be, when the dark clouds were 
rolled away and the influence of cerebral irri- 
tation had subsided. He finds that beyond a 
certain point he is not master of himself; he 
dares not often trust himself to express merited 
displeasure, lest he should become angry — 
pass the point at which he ceases to controul 
his actions and expressions, and should be 
betrayed into a violence which he would after- 
wards deplore. This has happened to him ; 
and a disposition the most humane, mild, and 
benevolent^ has been goaded, in one of these 
paroxysms, into acts the most abhorrent to 



CHAPTER XV. 30S 

his reason, judgment, and conscience ; and from 
reflection upon which he has cruelly suffered. 
Under physical treatment conducted upon the 
principles assumed in this essay, he has soon 
regained the entire command over himself. 

To resume the thread of my essay ; it has 
already been shown that the brain is the organ 
of the mind ; and that under certain circum- 
stances of irritation it is liable to disordered 
manifestations, so as to occasion various illu- 
sions, and among others the appearance of 
ghosts, and other alleged supernatural visita- 
tions. My present position is, that under given 
circumstances the brain ceases to be a perfect 
organ for mental manifestation ; and that in 
this state of imperfection it continues to act 
on without the guidance of the presiding mind, 
and so as to give rise to various appearances, 
which have usually been attributed to super- 
natural agency. 

Perhaps the most important of these cases 
are those, first, in which there has been sup- 
posed to be the re-appearance of departed 
spirits to distant friends, at the moment of the 
dissolution of the connexion of mind with its 
material tenement; and, secondly, those which 
have been ascribed to the immediate inter- 
vention of the Deity. 



804 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Of the former class, it seems just to infer 
that one established case in which the supposed 
circumstances have taken place, but the death 
of the party has not occurred, will be sufficient 
to overturn the hypothesis ; because, if intended 
by the Divine Power as a notice or warning of 
the death of certain individuals, and therefore 
permitted or appointed by that Providence, it 
must be invariable, or it cannot form a portion 
of the moral government of a Being of infinite 
and immutable truth. Such a history is fur- 
nished us in the narrative of the Rev. Joseph 
Wilkins, published in the Record of September 
2, 1828. [Having mislaid the paper, I quote 
from memory, but I believe correctly.] It is 
there stated, that Mr. Wilkins dreamed that he 
paid a visit to his family at Abingdon ; that he 
arrived in the night, and tried to obtain an en- 
trance at the front door, but in vain ; that he 
then went round to the back door, and, finding 
it open, proceeded up stairs to his mother's 
chamber, and addressed her; after this he 
awoke, and perhaps would not have thought a 
second time about his dream, but that on the 
same night, and at the same hour, Mrs. Wilkins, 
his mother, was awakened by some person en- 
deavouring to obtain an entrance at the street- 
door, but failing in doing so, she heard pre- 



CHAPTER XV. 305 

sently afterwards the back-door opened ; her 
son came up stairs and addressed her in the 
words before alluded to. So thoroughly con- 
vinced was she that this was the usual sup- 
posed appearance of departed spirits to their 
distant friends, that a letter was written the 
very next day to a friend of the Rev. Joseph 
Wilkins, upon the presumption that he was 
dead, to inquire particulars. The individual 
who publishes this statement concludes by ob- 
serving, that it may appear strangt that the nar- 
rator lived half a century after this circum- 
stance, and '' could never attribute any thing 
that happened, which could apply to this plain 
and simple matter of fact." — Strange indeed^ 
surpassing strange, it would have been, if viewed 
as a spiritual communication ; but an eMraordi- 
nary coincidence only, if considered as resulting 
from a state of cerebral irritation, existing in 
two individuals of the same family, with simi- 
lar constitutional predispositions, at the same 
time. The fact, I am not disposed to deny, 
may have happened ; its circumstances may not 
be easy to explain : one thing, however, is cer- 
tain — namely, that the supposition of coincident 
cerebral irritation is possible; while that of a 
heavenly agency, to produce a false impression^ 
painful and useless, upon the mind, is untenable, 

X 



306 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

nay, impossible. And if the inference from a 
single instance of well-authenticated fact can 
be thus proved to be false, the usual conse- 
quence is subverted ; and then, the essential 
character of the Divine proceeding being want- 
ing — namely, truth and immutabUity — the effect 
cannot be ascribed to an Ahnighty agency. The 
position that such assumed appearances may 
be ascribed to the evil spirit is equally unte- 
nable, because it would be wanting in that cha- 
racter of malignity, and that perversion of good, 
which must attach to demoniacal influence. 

The present seems to be a fit opportunity for 
mentioning what has happened to G. H. a 
lady, who many years since thought she saw 
the children of a friend of her's, at some dis- 
tance, in the grounds, in deep mourning, and 
concluded that this was a warning of the de- 
cease of her friend ; but no such consequence 
followed. At another time, this same lady saw 
her own coachman pass through her room 
dressed in the usual habiliments of woe, and 
her thoughts turned anxiously to her hus- 
band, whose health was at that time preca- 
rious ; but no occasion for mourning happened 
in the family. This lady, it is true, was not 
carried away by these appearances; but had they 
happened to a person of a different mental 



CHAPTER XV. 307 

calibre, they would have been viewed as 
mournful presages, and would have been con- 
sidered as apparitions. 

It is not many weeks since one of my patients, 
who believed herself dying, and who was in fact 
at that time in a very precarious state, accosted 
me at my evening visit with the inquiry, — '' Is 
your dear little boy gone to heaven ?" The lit- 
tle creature, to whom this question applied, had 
been most dangerously ill, but was recovering, 
and I therefore stated he was better, '* Ai^e you 
(with great emphasis) ywzYe sure of that ?^ '*Yes." 
— '' How long is it since you saw him ?'' '* Six 
or seven hours." — *' Well, I cannot help think- 
ing that he is gone, for he has been brought to me 
this evening ; but he said he could not wait for me, 
and fluttered his wings, and disappeared.'''^ It is 
perhaps needless to remark, that this little pa- 
tient has convalesced. The value of the narra- 
tive consists in the complete illusion which was 
thus produced, during a highly-excited state of 
the nervous system ; inducing so firm a belief,, 
that it could not be superseded at the time. If 
the death of the little boy had taken place at that 
period, coincidence would have offered a suffi- 
cient ground of explanation: but by all believers 
in apparitions, it would have been quoted in 
proof of the reality of appearance of those just 

X 2 



308 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

dead, to others who are living. As it really is, it 
affords a beautiful illustration of the physical 
origin of these morbid manifestations of mind. 

But, secondly, the history of Colonel Gardi- 
ner affords an example of our second division ; 
and, indeed, it is perhaps one of the most ex- 
traordinary upon record. The circumstances 
are too well known to require recapitulation. 
Yet let it be recollected, that the impression 
resulting from this circumstance, however be- 
neficial to the party, was immediately attended 
by a most powerful influence upon the nervous 
system^ and was followed by very severe ill- 
ness ; and, according to the views maintained 
in this Essay, was produced by the approach of 
that malady, through a peculiar, but not un- 
common, agency, exerted upon the brainular 
system during the incubation of disease. 

That the brain is liable to illusory excitement 
under such circumstances, is shown by the 
well-known fact of the fallacious feeling of 
high health, and comfort, and hilarity, which 
often precedes, scarcely by an interval of ^\q 
minutes, all the miserable sensations of indi- 
gestion, acidity, heart-burn, sinking, and 
wretchedness, which accompany certain states 
of disordered function of the stomach. Now, 
if this acknowledged illusion be dependent 



CHAPTER XV. 309 

upon a slight disturbance of the general har- 
mony of the system, can it be deemed extra- 
ordinary that the approach of its more serious 
and threatening invasions should be attended 
by more important illusions, and more deeply 
shadowed creations of a morbid brain ? 

To this view of the subject it may be replied, 
that in the instance of Colonel Gardiner it was 
followed by the conversion of a sinner, and that 
therefore it must have owned a supernatural 
origin. But this is by no means a consecutive 
result, and cannot be admitted in the argument. 
For it is perfectly possible, and consistent with 
all we know of the mysterious wisdom and 
goodness of a God of order and of infinite mercy, 
who works by the agency of means, that this 
sickness, and the effect produced upon the 
nervous system by its approach, should be 
employed as the very means of arresting the 
sinner in his headlong course of vice and widen- 
ing alienation from God, and of recalling him 
to better thoughts and principles ; awakening 
him to repentance, to a sense of his lost and 
ruined state, and to the only hope of salvation, 
through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, the only refuge for the convinced unpar- 
doned sinner, the only means of obtainingpeace. 

In the order of God's providence, nothing is 



310 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

more usual than that affliction, and especially 
sickness, should be employed to accomplish 
spiritual good, even the purposes of Divine 
mercy towards the sufferers ; for we w^ell know- 
how greatly the heart is softened and rendered 
impressible by sorrow. Sometimes even wicked 
men are permitted, unintentionally on their 
parts, to bring about these designs ; at other 
times, we become ourselves the authors of our mis- 
fortunes, by our imprudence, or neglect, or vices. 
God is not the author of evil, and does not 
employ evil in his service. But the wicked 
agents of their own desires and devices are per- 
mitted, in following their own loills, to bring 
about the designs of the Almighty. So, also, 
impressions upon the nervous system, which 
result from a physical influence, as well as the 
calamity of insanity itself, may be overruled for 
good, and may be instrumental to the convic- 
tion and conversion of the sinner. And al- 
though it is desirable for us to form just views 
of these cases, it might not always be advisable 
to combat opinions of this kind, where we found 
them referred to a supernatural agency; pro- 
vided always, that we could trace their holy 
injiuence upon the heart and conduct of those 
who verily thought they owed their ** second 
thoughts'' to some such special miracle. The 



CHAPTER XV. 311 

feverish heat of enthusiasm is certainly not to be 
desired, but it is infinitely less to be deprecated 
than the torpor of unbelief; that gloomy col- 
lapse of action which scarcely admits of hope. 
Still, enthusiasm is an evil, v^hich admits of pre- 
vention rather than cure ; and the first of these ob- 
jects forms the great purpose of the present Essay. 
How delightful is the reflection, that all our 
aff'airs are in the hands of such an omnipotent 
and all-wise Jehovah, whose merciful designs 
cannot be circumvented, and who deigns to 
overrule for good even the wicked devices of 
his rebellious creatures. Without, therefore, 
the necessity of supposing any supernatural in- 
fluence, we have a most rational explanation of 
this mystery — one which enlarges our views, 
and fixes them upon the infinite goodness of the 
Almighty, who doth all things well ; instead of 
upon a very questionable agency, which has 
often been perverted to bad purposes. 

Besides, a similar appearance has been often 
made without being followed by a similar re- 
sult. And if the Almighty should have con- 
descended to employ this extraordinary revela- 
tion in bringing about his designs of mercy, it 
can scarcely be supposed that this can ever 
have occurred without being followed by the 
alleged consequence. For however, under 



312 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

common circumstances, the sinner, in the hard- 
ness of his heart, may resist the striving of the 
Spirit in all ordinary means of impression, it 
cannot be allowed that this would be the case 
when a miracle — that is, an interference with 
the customary laws of nature — had been pro- 
duced for this express purpose; for the Omni- 
potent does nothing in vain. Now two cases, 
very nearly similar to that of Colonel Gardiner, 
have occurred in the experience of the writer 
of these remarks, and the supposed consequences 
have not taken place. They were the following: — 
A farmer, in returning from market, was 
deeply affected by a most extraordinary bril- 
liant light, which he thought he saw upon the 
road, and by an appearance in that light, which 
he conceived to be our Saviour. He was greatly 
alarmed, and spurring his horse, galloped 
home ; remained agitated during the evening ; 
was seized with typhus fever, then prevailing 
in the neighbourhood ; and died in about ten 
days. Be it observed^ that on the morning of 
the day of the supposed vision, he had com- 
plained, before he left home, of head-ache, 
languor, and general weariness. In fact, this 
is only to be accounted for, rationally, by 
supposing the existence of the nervous im- 
pression preceding the open attack of severe 



CHAPTER XV. 313 

disease. It would be well if we would some- 
times borrow caution from a heathen ; ** Nee 
Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus in- 
ciderit." An analogous case has been related 
to me, in which there was an appearance of 
the evil one, and which was followed by severe 
illness and death; but as this has not happened 
within the sphere of my own investigation, it 
is merely mentioned as showing the frequency 
of such impressions. 

Another instance, but which was not follow- 
ed by a fatal result, occurred in the case of 
I. K., who has several times witnessed a lu- 
minous appearance, only without a visible re- 
presentation of any particular form. This has 
happened almost immediately after going to 
bed ; and although the individual may be said 
to be free from superstitious fears, and religion 
cannot bear the unjust blame of inducing them, 
for he is hesitating on the subject of some of 
the grand truths of Christianity; yet it has 
been difficult, nay, impossible, to convince 
him that the light was not real ; and that the 
apparent vividness with which he saw every 
surrounding object, although he was really in 
the dark, was the actual result of recollected 
impressions previously made upon the sen- 
sorium, and now associated with the ocular 
spectrum produced by a peculiar state of the 



314 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

optic nerve ; that condition being the result of 
disordered health, since upon all these occasions 
the general health has been manifestly deranged. 
Again : L. M. is a young gentleman, who 
had for years been subject to paroxysms of 
epilepsy, and, I apprehend too, of maniacal 
hallucination. His history, so far as it fell 
under my own observation, is shortly this. 
He came into my neighbourhood for change 
of air. He had been one day to visit a friend 
of his, residing in a village a few miles distant, 
and had left that house about eleven o'clock 
at night. He did not return to his lodgings 
until five the next morning, and then in a state 
of great exhaustion, with his clothes in so wet, 
and dirty, and disordered a condition, as in- 
dicated that he must have spent a considerable 
portion of the night upon the wild commons 
with which this locality is surrounded. Be it 
observed, that, on account of his head, he had 
taken only one glass of wine ; so that the ex- 
citement of intoxication is entirely out of the 
question. His account of himself was^ that 
he had been met by a light of the most ex- 
traordinary brilliance, in the centre of which 
was a female form of exceeding beauty ; and 
that he had followed this light, until, when it 
finally disappeared, he found himself com- 
pletely bewildered^ and knew not where he 



CHAPTER XV. 315 

was. He then wandered about, until at length 
he came to a cottage, and there remained, till 
with the assistance of day-light and of the 
cottagers, he found his way home. 

Two days after this occurrence, I was sum- 
moned in the night to see him, on account of 
an extraordinary state of insensibility in which 
he appeared to be, and of the impossibility of 
his friends getting him to bed. I found him 
in a paroxysm of ecstacy^ with his Bible in his 
hands, opened, and too firmly grasped to be 
relinquished without the use of great violence ; 
his eyes fixed on a particular part of the room, 
with the utmost intensity of eager desire ; his 
lips quivering in imaginary conversation ; his 
feet cold, though it was a very hot night ; and 
the head greatly heated with an accelerated 
and excited circulation through its vessels. 
This state was only the precursor of a regular 
attack of insanity, which gave way, after a few 
days, to cupping, leeches, blistering, cold ap- 
plications to the head, mustard plasters to the 
feet, the usual medicines, and rational treat- 
ment of a mental and moral complexion. And 
what do these circumstances prove, if they do 
not show that these supposed supernatural 
appearances are the result of disordered action 
of the braiiiular system, arising for the most 
part from the incubation of disease ? At least. 



316 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

we have traced back several instances of the 
kind to this peculiar condition of the nervous 
system ; and it becomes the objector to show 
why we may not argue from circumstances 
which we can fathom, to analogous circum- 
stances, which are beyond the reach of our 
bounded vision, but which admit of easy ex- 
planation upon this principle, while on any 
other hypothesis they are wholly and entirely 
inexplicable. 

It is related, in the Memoirs of Pastor Ober- 
lin, that there appeared nightly to the family 
of one of his parishioners the ghost of an an- 
cient knight, who gave information of a trea- 
sure hidden in the cellar. Pastor Oberlin was 
called in his ministerial capacity to witness 
this appearance. It is needless to add, that 
he could see nothing : but he very wisely ad- 
dressed the supposed apparition in a com- 
manding tone, desiring it to delude these poor 
people no longer; and most prudently intro- 
duced into his address the only legitimate 
means of acquiring riches, by persevering 
industry. The nocturnal visitor never again 
appeared ; clearly showing that his pastoral 
influence was enough to supersede the morbid 
hallucination which had been produced upon 
several brains, by the agency of that com- 
munity of feeling and interest which exists 



CHAPTER XV, 317 

between the different branches of the same 
family. 

A young man, within the circle of my ac- 
quaintance, was severely ill, and suffered large 
loss of blood. This was succeeded by irregu- 
larity in the distribution of that fluid, and the 
head got an undue proportion ; the conse- 
quence of which was an excited state of the 
brain, and what he termed a happiness on 
religious subjects, which rendered him full of 
gratitude and hope. This was followed, in a 
day or two, by his assertion that he had had 
an extraordinary revelation from God, in which 
he was called by name in an audible voice, 
and had received a commission to teach and 
preach by every means : in fact, a paroxysm 
of insanity had set in. He burst into a rhap- 
sodical, incoherent prayer ; laid his hands on 
a little girl, and blessed her, as in the charac- 
ter of our Saviour. The instant the Bible is 
mentioned, he asserts that he no longer needs 
it, because he has received a special revelation, 
which supersedes its necessity ;— in itself an 
abundant proof of the patient's delusion, and 
showing, on the whole, the influence of phy- 
sical causes in disturbing the manifestations of 
mind. This patient is just dismissed conva- 
lescent from a private lunatic asylum. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The same subject continued. — Examination of some popular 
histories of supernatural visitation ; — Lord Tyrone and 
Lady Beresford ; — Lord Lyttleton, &c. &c. 

In the prosecution of our argument, we now- 
advance a step further, and we assert, that if 
these supernatural appearances be considered 
as the commissioned agents of the Omnipotent 
to convince the hardened heart, it is quite im- 
possible to resist the conclusion that the same 
agency has been employed as a weapon against 
the spread of true religion in the world. But 
it is impossible to allow that any portion of 
God's providential arrangements can be directly 
opposed to his most holy will: therefore an 
event can never have occurred which would 
involve this solecism: consequently the ap- 
parition cannot be traced to spiritual agency, 
without involving a tremendous absurdity; 



CHAPTER XVI. 319 

whereas, if it be considered as of bodily origin, 
though its consequences may have been such 
as, in the hands of a God of infinite grace, to 
be sometimes rendered the means of stopping 
the sinner in his maddening career, all is com- 
prehensible, all is in keeping with the revealed 
and ordinary methods of God's providence. 

The instance to which I particularly allude, 
is that of the well-known Lord Herbert of Cher- 
bury, who, while meditating the publication 
of his work. *' De Veritate, prout distingidtur a 
Rev elation e verisimili, possibili, etafalso;'' and, 
indeed, while hesitating as to the propriety of 
publishing, what he knew would attach some 
considerable odium to its author, prayed thus : 
*' O thou eternal God, Author of the light 
which now shines upon me, and Giver of all 
inward illuminations, I do beseech thee, of thy 
infinite goodness, to pardon a greater request 
than a sinner ought to make. I am not satis- 
fied enough, whether I shall publish this book, 
De Veritate : if it be for thy glory, I beseech 
thee give me some sign from heaven ; if not, 
I shall suppress it." He had no sooner spoken 
these words, than a loud, though gentle, noise 
came from the heavens ; which so comforted 
and supported him, that he took his petition 



320 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

as granted, considered that he had the sign asked 
for, and resolved to print the work in question. 
Now, it is quite impossible to gainsay this fact, 
since it rests on the same basis with others of 
similar pretensions, though of an opposite cast 
of character — namely, human testimony, which, 
if admitted as evidence in the one case, must 
also be allowed in the other. 

It may indeed be said, that God overrules all 
things for the promotion of his kingdom in the 
world ; and therefore, that, as every event 
redounds to his glory, this was among the 
number. But it cannot be supposed that the 
Almighty would actually commission an enemy 
to the cause of truth to make an attack upon 
that cause (which would ultimately triumph,) 
for the purpose of obtaining a refutation ; al- 
though he may have made the devices of man's 
froward heart contribute, by His power, to 
some real and substantial good, and to the set- 
ting forth of his glory. 

If, then, we separate these results in any one 
instance from the immediate agency of God's 
providence, so do we legitimately in others : 
we estimate them aright; we refer them to a 
peculiar state of morbid cerebral irritation ; and 
the individual so acting is to be considered as 



CHAPTER XVI. 321 

entirely under a bodily influence, however he 
may be deceived into a contrary opinion, by 
feeling, prejudice, ignorance, or passion. 

We have next to notice more particularly the 
appearance of individuals to others, and espe- 
cially of the dead or dying to their distant 
friends. 

We shall observe, that these appearances 
occur in a disordered state of the brainular sys- 
tem arising from bodily disease, or in the par- 
ticular condition of that organ v^hich results 
from intense mental excitement. In either 
case, there will be remarked a 'peculiar suscep- 
tibility to impression of every kind, and a pre- 
disposition towards the indulgence of emotions 
of a painful character. But this is a morbid 
state, not of the immaterial, indestructible spi- 
rit, but of the organ through which its mani- 
festations of action are made, by which its per- 
ceptions are received, and its impressions are 
conveyed. This may exist in a greater or less 
degree, as will be best illustrated by the history 
of some cases which have fallen under my own 
observation. 

A. B. had been blind for some years before 
she discovered that she was constantly sur- 
rounded by many bright and spiritual beings. 
She acknowledged they were inoffensive, but 

Y 



322 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

their constant presence became troublesome. 
It was useless to reason with her : her constant 
appeal from the force of every argument em- 
ployed was to demonstration: '^ See, sir; there 
they are.'' No defined purpose for their ap- 
pearance was ever ascertained. — In this case, 
there was chronic disease of the brain, which 
ultimately proved fatal, through the lengthened 
shadows of declining reason, the gradually 
deepening gloom of mental imbecility, to the 
total extinction of that light which mental 
manifestation sheds upon the pathway of mor- 
tality. Here, therefore, we have one instance 
of supposed spiritual appearance distinctly 
traced to disorder of the function of the brain. 

C. D. became the subject of a severe attack 
of apoplexy, on recovering from which he had 
lost the power of recollecting the names, or 
even of distinguishing the different individuals, 
of which his family was composed : he would 
weep bitterly, cr laugh heartily, without any 
adequate cause ; would frequently address one 
part of his household for another ; and would 
almost constantly hold imaginary conversations 
with some spiritual attendant, to whose agency 
he would attribute all his misdemeanors in 
diet, and all the deviations from the rules pre- 
scribed by his medical friend. So that here 



CHAPTER xvr. 323 

again we have traced back an alleged spiritual 
agency to disease of the brain. The sequel of 
this history is instructive ; for C. D. conva- 
lesced imperfectly ; and in proportion as he did 
so, became more rational, and less frequently 
assailed by the visitation of his spiritual con- 
ductor, till the impression was entirely super- 
seded by returning health and strength. 

But there may be some excellent persons, 
who may fear lest, in thus referring supposed 
spiritual agency to a purely physical state, 
I may be undervaluing one of the most import- 
ant doctrines of our holy religion— namely, the 
influence of the sacred Spirit . By no means : my 
only object is to vindicate this doctrine, and 
to separate it from those adventitious states 
with which it has no connexion, though it has 
too frequently been associated with them. 

For a moment let the differences be consi- 
dered. The office of the Holy Spirit is to lead 
us into truth ; while the effect of this pseudo- 
spiritual agency is to leave us in the darkness of 
error. The Spirit of God operates upon our 
spirits through the medium of his word and 
ordinances : while these are generally lost sight 
of, or perhaps even opposed, by this super- 
natural influence. The teaching of the Spirit 
will lead us to follow Christ, and to strive to 

Y 2 



324 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

be like him, with intense desire; while this 
physical state concentrates the thoughts and 
feelings upon selfish objects and pursuits, and 
abstracts them from the only satisfying good. 
The Holy Spirit is the comforter of the people 
of God ; while this morbid state disturbs the 
peace, produces error, and surrounds its subject 
with the impenetrable gloom of disordered 
brainular function. The Spirit of grace ex- 
erts a holy, sanctifying influence upon the 
heart and conduct ; while the alleged super- 
natural agency, to which it is opposed, more 
commonly leads the mind from that which is 
holy and just and good, and besets it with the 
fearfully morbid creations of a distempered fancy. 
The Spirit of God helpeth our infirmities ; 
while this physical load increases their w^eight, 
augments their influence, diminishes the power 
of volition, and renders the Christian an easier 
prey to temptation, by taking away the natural 
safeguards which a gracious God has communi- 
cated in those faculties, which are talents, that, 
well employed, are capable of large augmentation. 
Aofain : E. F. a clero'vman of considerable 
talent and acquirements, had lived as an old 
fellow and private tutor in his college for many 
years, and had realized considerable property 
by these pursuits ; but he sighed for independ- 



CHAPTER XVI. 325 

ence, for absence from the duties and respon- 
sibilities of teaching, and for family com- 
forts : he accordingly accepted the first good 
living that became vacant, and retired from 
his college, to the regret of all who knew him. 
Too soon, however, he found that he had acted 
indiscreetly ; and that, in fact, he had fled from 
peace. For the first month he established 
himself in his princely parsonage, and endea- 
voured to persuade himself that he was happy ; 
but happiness could not be found. Already 
his books ceased to interest him, and to beguile 
the many hours of his leisure ; he had not even 
spirits enough to unpack the cases which con- 
tained them. His parsonage required the tem- 
porary occupancy of some workmen^ in order 
to render it exactly what he wished, and these 
harassed him by delays. Some difi^erence of 
opinion arose with his parishioners on the sub- 
ject of tithes ; and he found, or seemed to 
find, that he had actually given up income, 
and all the comforts of life without care, and 
with good society of his own literary habits, 
for an excellent house which he could not enjoy ; 
for literary leisure which he had ceased to 
relish ; for domestic pleasures, which his present 
miserable state oi xmudi forbade him to think of 
on account of its injustice ; for the cares of a 



326 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

household; and for all the annoyances attendant 
upon an uncertain income, to be squeezed out 
of grudging farmers, who most unwillingly paid 
him their dues, and cheated him as often as 
they could do so with impunity. The black 
clouds of melancholy deepened around him ; 
sleep, that common friend of the wretched, 
fled from his pillow, and was exchanged for 
brooding care and unvarying regret for the 
past, grief for the present, and despondency for 
the future. In this state (there existed family 
predisposition to insanity) the integrity of the 
brain gave way ; he was haunted by visions of 
distress ; the dread of poverty became a promi- 
nent idea ; and the possessor of many hundreds 
a year in private property, in addition to a 
very valuable living, spoke of ruin as inevitable. 
He was assailed by the most painful suggestions, 
and was attended every where by one parti- 
cular supernatural form, which day and night 
upbraided him as the author of his own mis- 
fortunes. On my representation, his aged 
diocesan granted him licence of non-residence, 
and after a time he was so far relieved as 
to enjoy life again. But a few years after- 
wards, mental causes of anxiety once more 
disturbed the equilibrium of the brainular func- 
tion, and the same spiritual attendant was 



CHAPTER XVI. 327 

again visible. — Thus, as I proceed in detailing 
the facts and observations out of which my own 
principles have grown, does the connexion be- 
tween disorder of the brain, and supposed spi- 
ritual, supernatural appearances, become more 
clearly demonstrated. 

G. H. was assailed by unearthly visitants, 
who used to choose the night for their appear- 
ance, and to awaken him by calling loudly 
his Christian name, and by bringing before 
him various accusations on the ground of 
his moral character. So deep was the con- 
viction of the reality of these voices, and of the 
beings with which they were associated, that he 
could never tolerate a doubt of their existence, 
and became angry if the accuracy of the testimony 
of his senses was impugned. The manifestations 
of mind, at first only slightly disturbed, became 
more and more erroneous, till disease of the 
brain was prominent^ under which he sank 
eventually. 

But I proceed. — I. K., an intimate friend of 
my early years, and most happy in his domestic 
arrangements^ lost his wife under the most 
painful circumstances, suddenly, just after she 
had apparently escaped from the dangers of an 
untoward confinement with her first child. 
Under these circumstances, it will easily be 



328 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

believed that he laboured under considerable 
mental excitation, and consequent brainular 
irritation. A few weeks after this melancholy 
event, while travelling during the night on 
horseback, and in all probability thinking over 
his sorrows, and contrasting his present cheer- 
less prospects with the joy which so lately 
gilded the hours of his happy home, the 
form of his lost relative appeared to be 
presented to him, at a little distance in ad- 
vance: he stopped his horse, and contem- 
plated the vision with great trepidation, till in 
a few seconds it vanished away. Within a few 
days of this appearance, while he was sitting in 
his solitary parlour late at night, reading by the 
light of a shaded taper, the door, he thought, 
opened, and again the form of his deceased part- 
ner entered ; assured him of her complete happi- 
ness ; conjured him to follow her footsteps; 
and added many points of the greatest indivi- 
dual interest, but of a nature too sacred to be 
submitted to public inspection. Now on both 
these occasions my friend assured me that he 
knew and felt that it was the peculiar state of 
his bodily system which had occasioned these 
apparitions. Particularly in the latter case, he 
doubts not that he had fallen asleep, and had 
been attacked by nightmare, from which he 



CHAPTER XVI. 329 

awakened, springing up much agitated, and 
palpitating. That same night, however, im- 
pressed with the extraordinary nature of these 
circumstances, he committed them to paper ; 
and they certainly afford a good illustration 
of the visionary irritation of the brain, when 
dependent upon the morbid influence of mental 
causes. 

L. M., during the progress of fever, conti- 
nually saw persons come to her room, and fre- 
quently rang her bell to have them shown to 
the door ; or to have her children removed be- 
cause they were a disturbance to her visitors. 
The endless forms of unusual beings which were 
presented to this patient, during the course of 
her malady, afford a convincing proof that irri- 
tation of the brain has the power of producing 
this state : and, if it be shown to possess the 
power, it is most illogical to deny its agency in 
the confection of the spiritual appearance, when 
no other cause can be given, attended with so 
few difficulties as the present. 

Again; N. O. for a considerable period, saw 
the cross of our Saviour planted at a particular 
corner of her bed-room ; and, although tho- 
roughly incapable of reason, yet believed it 
was placed there for her comfort, on some in- 
explicable principle. 



330 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Lastly; P. Q.duringasevere illness, repeatedly 
saw her father, residing at the distance of many 
hundred miles from her home, come to her bed- 
side, and, withdrawing the curtain, address her 
in his usual voice and manner. 

Instances of this kind might be indefinitely 
multiplied, from the writer^s professional expe- 
rience ; but their accumulation is unnecessary ; 
enough, surely, have been brought forward to 
establish the position, that disturbance of the 
cerebral system will occasion a peculiar condi- 
tion of the brain, in which these apparitions are 
produced. In many of the foregoing cases 
supernatural visitations have been traced to 
this source, and Nicholai's ghosts were evi- 
dently of the same character ; the result of 
nervous irritability, brought into action by the 
violent emotions which had preceded the at- 
tack. The author of the present Essay is not 
prepared to affirm that this is the case in every 
instance, and that there can be no spiritual ap- 
pearance. But, granting its possibility, the 
question will then be, — If in some cases these 
supposed supernatural appearances are to be 
accounted for on physical piinciples, who is to 
deny that the same origin may be applicable to 
all others ? Who is to decide as to what is sen- 
sorial illusion, and what is spiritual and supe7^na - 



CHAPTER xvr, 331 

tural agency ? And then, is it not better, more 
rational, more Christian, to take up an hypo- 
thesis which ea?plains many of the phenomena, 
and reconciles many difficulties, and vindicates 
the moral government of the Almighty, and is 
supported by the most powerful arguments and 
experience ; than to adopt another mode of 
explanation which assumes every thing, but de- 
fines and explains nothing : which is involved in 
inextricable difficulty; which throws a cloud 
over the government of the Omnipotent ; which 
is opposed to reason, and is not sanctio?2ed by ex- 
perience ? 

It now only remains for me to notice one or 
two of the most popular ghost stories, and to 
account for them upon the principles laid down 
in the preceding pages. And in the first place, 
the oft-cited history of the appearance of Lord 
Tyrone to Lady Beresford. The alleged facts 
of this case are as follow : an intimate friend- 
ship had subsisted between the parties, and 
they both entertained doubts on the subject of 
revealed religion. A mutual promise had 
been given, that whichever should die first, 
should, if permitted by the Almighty, appear to 
the survivor, in order to declare what religion 
was most acceptable to Him. Accordingly, 
Lady Beresford awakened one night and found 



332 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Lord Tyrone sitting by her bed-side ; she 
screamed violently and endeavoured in vain to 
awaken Sir Marcus Beresford. Upon her in- 
quiring of Lord Tyrone the cause of his appear- 
ance, he reminds her of their pledge, and in- 
forms her that he died at a certain period, and 
has been permitted to appear to her, in order 
to assure her of the truth of the revealed reli- 
gion. He informs her of various circumstances 
M^hich are to happen in her future life : and, 
finally, that she w^ill die in child-bed in the 
forty-seventh year of her age. He further 
vvarns her, that, if she persists in her infidelity, 
her lot will be most miserable ; but gives her 
reason to believe that he (who died in his infidel 
principles) is happy. Lady Beresford expresses 
her doubts as to the reality of Lord Tyrone^s 
appearance, and her fears that in the morning- 
she might be induced to ascribe it to the mere 
phantom of her imagination ; and, moreover, 
states that she will not be convinced by the in- 
telligence of Lord Tyrone's death, by his having 
thrown the curtain through a large iron hoop by 
which the tester of the bed was supported, by 
his handwriting in her pocket book — in fact, 
by nothing but by a personal blemish produced 
by spiritual contact with mortal flesh. '* Now," 
said he, ** while you live let no mortal eye be- 



CHAPTER XYI. 333 

hold that wrist ; to see it would be sacrilege. 
He stopped — I turned to him again — he was 
gone !" It is added, that Lady Beresford ever 
afterwards wore a black band upon the injured 
wrist. 

Now there can be no reasonable doubt that 
all this arose from a state of morbid cerebral 
excitement. The objections to the consistency 
of the narrative are, that Lady Beresford, upon 
discovering Lord Tyrone sitting by her bed-side, 
screamed out, and endeavoured, hut in vain, to 
awaken Sir Marcus Beresford, This^ then, 
was either that form of nightmare in which the 
patient seems to attempt the accomplishment of 
an object he most ardently desires, but ineffec- 
tually ; or it involves the supposition that a most 
extraordinary sleep rested on Sir Marcus ; 
thus requiring a further stretch of superstitious 
belief, and to no conceivable purpose; for if 
the appearance of Lord Tyrone was 'permitted by 
the Almighty in order to convince Lady Beres- 
ford of the truth of the Christian revelation, there 
would have been every rational motive why Sir 
Marcus should have been a party to this con- 
viction, and no semblance of reason why the 
same beneficent Providence which vouchsafed 
a special communication to his Lady, should 
have withheld it from Sir Marcus. Which, I 



334 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

would ask, of these two consequences is most 
consistent with truth ; which may be most 
easily referred to the great maxim of a very 
prevalent superstition, " Credo, quia impos- 
sibile est?" 

The next feat of Lord Tyrone, was to throw 
the bed-curtain through an iron hoop suspend- 
ing the tester, for the purpose of convincing 
Lady Beresford that his appearance was real ; 
grounding his proof on the impossibility of this 
being accomplished by mortal agency ; there- 
by laying claim to this interference with na- 
ture's laws as being a miracle, and therefore 
subjecting it to the same principles as other 
miraculous as'encv : bv these let it be tested — 
and particularly by the fact that it was a private 
miracle, wrought for the conviction of one in- 
dividual, and carefully concealed even from a 
second — and then will it be pronounced un- 
worthy of belief. 

But the crowning absurdity yet remains. 
Lady Beresford was still unconvinced. ** You 
are hard of belief," said he : *' I must not touch 
you ; it would injure you irreparably : it is not for 
spirits to touch mortal flesh." Lady Beresford 
remarked, that she did not regard a small 
blemish. *'You are a woman of courage," 
said he : *' hold out your hand." '* I did so ; 



CHAPTER X\I. 335 

he touched my wrist ; his hand was cold as 
marble ; in a moment the sinews shrank up, 
every nerve withered. ^Now,' said he^, 'while 
you live let no mortal eye behold that wrist ; 
to see it would be sacrilege.'" After this, 
Lady Beresford endeavoured, but in vain, to 
awaken Sir Marcus ; all her efforts were in- 
effectual. 

Now, is there here another miracle ? or is 
this spiritual being, whose body was dead, and 
who, by the supposition of his appearance under 
such circumstances, was deprived of physical 
properties^ gifted with extraordinary physical 
power, so as to leave an indelible brand from 
his disorganizing touch upon the wrist ? The 
stupendous absurdity about spirits not touching 
mortal flesh, and the sacrilege of beholding the 
arm thus indelibly marked by physico-spiritual 
agency, is only in keeping with the other parts 
of the tale, but is surely enough to destroy the 
credibility of the narration, at least to every 
Christian, who can never reconcile the message 
of mercy of a happy spirit, with a result so 
strangely inconsistent with all the attributes 
of our long-suffering God. 

The proof that this was a physical state, is 
again repeated, by the supposed ineffectual 
attempts to -waken Sir Marcus Beresford. 



336 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

The sequel of the history is not surprising ; 
common circumstances will account for it, 
particularly for Lady Beresford's sudden death, 
produced by the powerful impression made 
upon the nervous system, at a period when 
it must have been in a peculiarly excitable 
state, through the immediate and unexpected 
conviction that she was only forty-seven, in- 
stead of forty-eight. We have on record one 
instance of voluntary death, without any per- 
sonal violence ; how much more probable the 
extinction of life from the full and superstitious 
belief that she must die. Yet, in the close 
prospect of dissolution, and in the entire re- 
ception of the prophecy alluded to, and there- 
fore in the certainty of its being sacrilege to al- 
low her arm to be seen, she desired Lady , 

and her son by Sir Marcus, to examine her 
arm after her death. It is not reported that 
any means were employed to avert the threat- 
ened calamity, and she died ; — an event ren- 
dered still more probable by the susceptibility 
of the nervous system induced by her recent 
accouchement ; a period in which sudden death 
from slight, and inconceivably slight, mental 
emotion, sometimes even from a perfectly in- 
explicable cause, has often happened. 

In concluding my strictures upon this narra- 



CHAPTER xvr. 337 

tive, I may mention, as points of minor con- 
sideration, the description of the injury sus- 
tained. *^ That every nerve v^ithered, and 
every sinew shrank," is evidently got up, to 
add to the interest of the tale ; since, at all 
events, the withering of the nerves would not, 
could not, be visible. Besides, the prediction 
of Lord Tyrone was not verified, inasmuch as 
Lady Beresford did not die in child-bii^th, nor till 
she had completed her forty-seventh year. 

Next of Lord Lyttleton, the circumstances 
of whose death are well known. It is manifest 
that this case is very analogous to that of Co- 
lonel Gardiner, in many of its circumstances. 
The disordered state of Lord Lyttleton's health 
will fully account for the appearance : and his 
lordship's sudden death cannot be considered 
as extraordinary, under any circumstances, 
subjected as he was to those fits of suffocation ; 
how much less so^ when the influence of this 
morbid state must doubtless have been im- 
mensely increased by the powerful impression 
which had been made upon the nervous sys- 
tem ; while the depressing agency of the same 
cause, would have greatly tended to diminish 
the power of re-action, and consequently to 
extinguish the chance that the energies of the 
constitution might be able to surmount the 

z 



338 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

destructive agency of the disease. There is 
nothing at all extraordinary in Lord Lyttleton's 
not believing that the hour of midnight had 
passed, as his friends wished him to believe ; 
because it is difficult to conceive any man, of 
common sensibility, losing one hour out of 
twelve, under such circumstances ; while, as 
the period of midnight drew on, the feelings 
must have been wrought up by suspense, and 
susceptibility must have been accumulated 
about the brain, even to its highest pitch of 
excitation. 

It is, however, necessary to put a limit to 
the investigation of histories of this kind, or 
I should unduly trespass upon the patience of 
my readers, and I would not willingly draw 
further on their kindness. With regard to 
these cases it must be said, however, that some 
of them admit of immediate reference to the 
principles laid down in the foregoing Essay; — ■ 
others are so defective in circumstantial de- 
tails, that they allow of no reasoning at all 
upon them ; — while others are the manifest 
creations of the designing ; of the involuntary 
dupes to themselves; or of the dupes of others. 
It may be that some are inexplicable ; but do 
we not act wisely in referring such cases to 
principles which we can explain, rather than 



CHAPTER XVI. 339 

to adopt the incomprehensible hypothesis of a 
spiritual appearance ? — In conclusion, I will 
only request their attention for a few more 
pages, in order to the completion of my de- 
sign in this Essay, and to take a general re- 
view of the whole argument, with the infer- 
ences to be drawn from it. 



2 2 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Summary review of the preceding argument. 

Before I proceed to the conclusions I would 
draw from a consideration of this whole sub- 
ject, it will be useful shortly to review the 
ground already travelled over, and to point out 
the successive steps of our progress. 

We have seen that the cause of true religion 
always suffers in proportion as it is associated 
with any system of irrational belief. This 
proposition is shown by reason ; and it is con- 
firmed by experience : witness the examples 
of the Roman Catholic worshipper, the Mo- 
hammedan, the Hindoo, and the North Ame- 
rican devotee; all showing, that man is super- 
stitious in proportion as he deviates from re- 



CHAPTER XVII. 341 

leaved religion ; and hence arises a very strong 
presumption, that superstition is opposed, in 
its nature and essence, to the genius of Chris- 
tianity. 

Real religion always gains by inquiry ^ since 
it is based on truth ; and the more the belief 
of it is founded on knowledge, the firmer and 
broader will be its basis ; the more secure its 
elevation ; the greater the protection afforded 
to those who seek a shelter from the influence 
of sin, and the perplexities of this world's con- 
tumely; the more mature, the more highly 
and delicately flavoured, will be its fruits: 
while the blight of superstition withers every 
spiritual manifestation, and renders religion 
the subject of morbid action ; the object of 
fear, aversion, and disgust, rather than of the 
highest hopes, the most permanent satisfaction, 
and the purest delight. 

The honour of God is vindicated, and the 
decrees of his moral government are justified, 
by referring to their true cause various circum- 
stances which have often been ascribed to su- 
pernatural influence ; and in consequence of 
which, the human mind has been enthralled 
by superstition ; unjust and injurious views of 
the Almighty Governor have been produced ; 



342 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

and man has been left at the sport of his pas- 
sions, rather than restored to the guidance of 
rational motive and principle. 

By so doing, we do not rest in second causes, 
— forgetting the First Great Cause, and refer- 
ring every thing to physical agency; — but we 
claim its proper influence for that material 
medium, through which mental operations can 
alone be manifested ; and upon which, since sin 
entered into the world, and death by sin, this in- 
fluence of the Fall has been mainly exerted. 

The essential character of superstition con- 
sists in a belief of the existence of some super- 
natural power, superadded or opposed to the 
providence of God, — that God, who is infinite 
in wisdom, and mercy, and love, and who re- 
quires the submission of the heart and under- 
standing to his revealed will ; while the in- 
fluence of superstition subjugates the reason, 
obscures the perception of what is holy, and 
just, and true; perverts the understanding, 
and sets aside the volition and responsible 
agency of man. 

Superstition may be referred to the following 
causes; namely. 

False and irrational views on the subject of 
the agency of a Divine power : 



CHAPTER XVII. 343 

Ignorance of the phenomena of nature ; and 
still more so, of the providential government 
of God : 

Fear, from whatever cause arising : 

Coincidence : 

Fraud and hypocrisy : 

Influence of the imagination, and of external 
circumstances operating upon it : and, 

The agency of brainular action and irritation. 

Most of the causes which have been men- 
tioned tend to produce this latter state, and to 
occasion considerable excitement of the brain, 
terminating in irritation. And since this organ 
is under the controul of early habit and as- 
sociation, every disturbance of the brainular 
function may overturn the balance of healthy 
action in every department of mental mani- 
festation ; while the latter effect will be pro- 
portioned to the intensity and continuance of 
the former cause. 

This disturbance of organ and function may 
be primary and immediate ; or it may be se- 
condary and sympathetic ; but in either case, 
a peculiar irritation of the brain will be set up, 
in consequence of which, that organ will have 
escaped the controul of the presiding mind, 
and will continue to act on without its guid- 
ance and diVection. 



344 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

That the brain is thus liable to irritation 
from various physical causes, is proved from 
its material properties ; from its peculiar adap- 
tation to its functions in different individuals, 
and in varying states of the same individual ; 
of health or disease, energy or feebleness, acti- 
vity or indolence ; from its requiring a due 
supply of pure and healthy blood ; and by the 
completeness of its functions, or its different 
degrees of imperfection, accordingly as that 
supply may have been only just sufficient, or 
redundant, or defective ; and still further, as 
it may or may not have undergone its purify- 
ing change in the lungs ; from the fact of its 
suffering as an organ of mind in all the reflex 
irritations of all the organs of the body, sto- 
mach, skin, lungs, &c. &c. ; from the unwonted 
irritability of convalescents ; from the varying 
effect of certain articles of food, according to 
the prevailing temperament ; and from the in- 
fluence of too much or too little sleep, and 
differing accordingly as the one or the other 
state of too much or too little blood may have 
prevailed. 

A precisely similar effect may be produced 
by mental emotion ; thus proving that the brain 
may be similarly acted upon from within and 
without, from the body and the mind. 



CHAPTER XVII. 345 

This material organ, thus extensively con- 
nected, and thus variously liable to irritation, 
is the only organ for mental manifestation; not, 
indeed, that brain itself reasons, remembers, 
imagines, distinguishes, or associates : but that 
it is the only medium through which we be- 
come conscious of these mental operations ; 
wanting which^ we should know nothing of 
their existence : when defective, they also would 
be incomplete ; and, when irritated, they would 
become perverted. 

Intense thought excites brainular action, and 
requires a large supply of blood, in order to 
keep up that excitement ; therefore its more 
important intellectual functions cannot be car- 
ried on perfectly, except by supposing the per- 
fect integrity of the sanguiferous system, — de- 
pendent as it is upon the functions of digestion, 
assimilation, nutrition, and various other pro- 
cesses, which, if interrupted, produce uneasi- 
ness in their respective organs, and consequent 
sympathetic irritation of the brain. 

The brain is subjected to a variety of morbid 
impressions, which will occasion correspond- 
ing changes upon the mental manifestations. 

The morbid impressions thus produced, will 
be characterized by the particular bodily or 
mental source whence they were originally 



346 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

derived, and therefore will admit of many 
and great differences ; witness the sanguine 
expectations and predominant hopes of the 
consumptive patient : the dark clouds, melan- 
cholic vapours, and gloomy images of the dy- 
speptic ; and the anxieties and solicitudes of 
the sufferer from cardiac disease, yet his oc- 
casional good spirits even to the end. 

If this be the case certainly and avowedly 
with regard to a few forms of disease, which we 
can trace with a certain degree of presumed 
accuracy, may we not infer that analogous ef- 
fects will be produced by every corresponding 
morbid change of every organ of the body, 
though we may have been unable as yet to 
trace its agency? And this being granted, 
may not many erroneous mental manifestations 
be referrible to an irritating cause of this kind ? 

The brain, so circumstanced, is liable to 
many causes of irritation, excitement, and ex- 
haustion. 

Simple excitement will occasion more or 
less of permanent disorder of this organ, and 
by so doing will interrupt a due supply of, 
nervous influence to the various viscera of the 
body ; their functions are feebly performed : 
and this want of energy is directly propagated 
to the brain, by a retrograde movement. This 



CHAPTER XVII. 347 

action and reaction produce incalculable de- 
viations from health of body, as well as from 
the aptitude for correct mental operations ; the 
balance of power is destroyed, and disorder of 
the general health is the result. 

Thus feebleness of the brain results from a 
lavish expenditure of its energies : it is not 
recruited by rest, because its supply of healthy 
blood is diminished as a consequence of this 
very feebleness. In order to answer this in- 
creased demand, the heart and arterial system 
are called upon for augmented action : then 
febrile commotion is produced ; the brain is 
liable to become the slave of any other organ 
of the body in a state of irritation ; and morbid 
images are occasioned. 

These morbid images are not to be removed 
by reasoning, because they result from organic 
agencies, which have escaped from the presi- 
dence of the will, and have usurped its au- 
thority. 

Since, under these circumstances, the brain 
is not accessible to reasoning, no bounds can 
be set to the creation of unreal and discon- 
nected images ; and since the function of com- 
parison, and the judgment which results from 
its exercise, are now utterly useless, a con- 
dition of the brain, and therefore of the mani- 



348 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

festations of mind^ has been produced, which 
is most favourable to the creation of super- 
natural appearances. 

Actual consciousness may be suspended by 
a powerful cause acting upon the brain, even 
during its waking and healthy state ; much 
more when enfeebled by disease, or by any 
other oppressing cause. Hence unreal images 
may be produced by the brain, without any 
consciousness of the action by which they are 
called into being ; and when this consciousness 
is lost for the time, the mind is prepared for 
receiving as real, any and all the creations of a 
vivid fancy. 

li simple excitement be exchanged for that 
which is morbid, especially if the brain be suf- 
fering from the oppression of invading disease 
(more particularly if that disease be of a specific 
threatening or destructive character,) mental 
manifestation is more disturbed, and there hap- 
pens a greater perversion of sensorial, intellec- 
tual, and moral movements; which will only 
be gradually restored by the slow return of 
bodily health. 

In this state of disturbance, fearful images 
will claim the pre-eminence ; and the imagina- 
tion is rendered unduly active in their confec- 
tion. 



CHAPTER xvir. 349 

Farther : The brain is an organ of most ex- 
tensive sympathy : it suffers with the maladies 
of other organs ; and reflects its own suffer- 
ings, so as to produce morbid action upon 
them; and then itself becomes the subject 
of secondary excitement, from the associa- 
tions thus induced. 

Moreover, it is liable to peculiar irritation, 
not only from the character of every cause of 
disturbance to the organ which forms the first 
link in the chain of morbid action, but also 
from every kind and degree of such irrita- 
tion. 

In all its own diseases, the functions of the 
brain suffer most deeply, and are accompanied 
by a frightful degree of debility. It is quite 
impossible to predicate the way in which its 
own morbid actions will be shown ; since they 
are commonly opposed to the general character, 
and will even vary, according to the portion 
of brain which happens to become the seat of 
irritation ; and, after all, many minuter shades 
of perversion will escape our observation. 

In fact, the manifestations of spiritual eccist- 
ence are characterized by the material medium 
through which they become cognizable ; and 
the perversion which these have suffered forms 
a consequence of man's primal sin, and now 



350 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

becomes a portion of his state of trial here 
below. 

The sympathies of the brain are most ex- 
tensive; particularly — 

With the heart; the disturbance of whose 
function may occasion the apparent abolition, 
and the real suspension^ of all mental mani- 
festation. 

With the blood; in relation to its quantity, and 
vital principles : any sudden alteration in the 
one or the other may occasion the entire sus- 
pension of the intellectual faculties, and give 
rise to various perversions, according to chang- 
ing circumstances. 

With the organs of 7^espiration ; these are sub- 
jected to many states of disordered action; and 
for every one of these there may be a corres- 
ponding variety of cerebral irritation ; and this 
will be followed by disturbance of the intellec- 
tual functions, so that many forms of morbid 
cerebral manifestation may be the result ; and 
these again will tend to produce disturbance 
of the chest, which in its turn will irritate the 
brain. 

With the stomach and alimentary canal ; not 
only from their diseases, but from the influence 
of many articles of diet or medicine ; produc- 
ing extraordinary irritations of the brain, and 



CHAPTER XVII. 351 

various spectral illusions. This is shown by 
the influence of tea, coffee, alcoholic fluids, 
and opium^ upon which last has been sometimes 
dependent alleged visions of angels, and the 
agency of heavenly spirits. 

With the liver ; which is justly suspected of 
giving rise to many forms of melancholy. 

With the funct 1071 of secretion in general ; which 
is shown in the familiar instance of the excite- 
ment of a flow of saliva, by the mental impres- 
sion of pleasant food ; and its immediate arrest 
from any cause, mental or bodily, which inter- 
feres with the digestive process ; and also by 
the copious secretion of tears, from the emotion 
of grief, aye, even from that sorrow which 
springs from listening to a history of fictitious 
woe. 

With the muscular system; witness the almost 
incredible efforts which will be made from a 
violent exercise of volition, and the influence 
of a powerful will in sustaining muscular ac- 
tions of a less intense character, for a very 
long time, as in the acts of reading, writing, 
speaking, or walking: witness also the mus- 
cular weariness arising from fatigue of the 
brain ; and the violent convulsive efforts which 
accompany certain forms of cerebral disease, 
such as hysteria, epilepsy, and convulsions. 



352 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

With the shin ; as is shown by the different 
effects of passion in producing paleness, or red- 
ness, or suffusion, and even blackness of the 
surface ; and the influence of a chill upon the 
skin, in occasioning morbid mental manifest- 
ations, which are again followed by reaction and 
febrile excitement. 

With many other organs of the body ; whose 
expression of morbid action may not be so well 
suited for popular discussion. 

This sympathetic communion with many 
organs, occasions the brain physically to rejoice 
in their health, and to sorrow in their diseases ; 
and forms the link of communication between 
them ; so that if action of any kind be inter- 
rupted any where, or if a new action be set up, 
it is immediately known and felt throughout 
the whole system. 

The brain is liable to disturbance from irri- 
tation excited in any one of these organs, how- 
ever slight its degree, and however remote 
its situation in the economy ; and again, it is 
especially subjected to morbid action, from any 
uneasiness or imperfection occurring in anyone 
portion of that system of nerves which exists 
for the purpose of uniting all these separate 
functions into one harmonious whole. 

The peculiar character of this cerebral dis- 



CHAPTER XVII. 353 

turbance is determined by the particular organ 
which proves the source of irritation, and by 
the kind and degree of morbid action to which 
it is exposed. 

As a consequence of this organic irritation, 
there is much functional disorder ; in fact, much 
perverted action, much partial or incipient de- 
rangement in the world ; and it may be cha- 
ritably hoped that much of the insane conduct, 
much of the strange manner, much of the dis- 
torted feeling and emotion, many of the errors 
and prejudices we encounter, may be referred 
to this cause. 

Only, it must here be recollected that, how- 
ever we may indulge this hope towards others, 
we must be rigid towards ourselves ; always 
remembering that we are responsible for the use 
we make of the function of volition ; since upon 
this faculty depends our accountability, and 
since, were it not for the influence of sin, it 
would always enable us to choose the good and 
refuse the evil ; and if we follow the converse 
of this proposition, it is because we do not 
exercise this function with full purpose of heart. 

It is, indeed, true, that we are now become so 
perverted by sin, that we are unable to employ 
this faculty to the glory of God; but then it is 
equally our duty to endeavour to do so, and nar- 

A A 



354 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

rowly to scrutinize our motives and actions, in 
order that we may be able, by Divine assist- 
ance, to controul every tendency to morbid 
mental manifestation. 

If this incipient morbid action should be 
very intense, or if it should be long-continued, 
the integrity of the brain may be destroyed ; 
and escaping the controul of the presiding will, 
cerebral disorder of greater magnitude will be 
produced. 

Cerebral disorder is not mental, requiring and 
admitting only of moral remedies : these form 
only one class of curative agents. The brain is 
merely the organ of mind, not mind itself; and 
the disorder of its function arises from its ceasing 
to be a proper medium for the expression of 
the varied action and passion of the presiding 
spirit. 

The symptoms of this disorder are often 
termed mental alienation^ lunacy, fatuity, and 
other names, which lead the attention away 
from bodily disturbance, to certain mental states, 
and they identify those states with the brainular 
disorder, instead of perceiving that the spiritual 
principle is incapable of any disease, except 
that of sin ; and instead of referring the actual 
morbid manifestations of mind to their organic 
cause. 



CHAPTER XVTI. 355 

But if the mental manifestations always be- 
come disordered during the prevalence of a 
certain morbid condition of the brain ; and if 
some of these may be clearly traced to this 
source, it is not unfair to infer, that certain 
others, which have usually been ascribed to 
spiritual agency, may properly be referred to 
a similar disease of structure. 

The slightest congestion in the vessels of the 
brain, may occasion an alteration in the mmii- 
festation of mind. 

The peT'version of the latter is increased in pro- 
portion to the deepening shades of the former. 

Hence, certain other morbid states, besides 
that of congestion, may occasion other devia- 
tions from healthy manifestation, and may per- 
haps account for visions, spectral illusions, 
apparitions, &c. 

Cerebral disorder is marked by feebleness, or 
perversion, or suspension of the correct in- 
formation afforded by the organs of sense. 

Cerebral disorder is sometimes accompanied 
by the excessive susceptibility, and morbid 
creations of these sentinels of the body : hence 
the frequency of sensorial illusion. 

In this state of disturbance originates mental 
hallucination : the perverted image is brooded 
over, and recalled, and associated in various 

A A 2 



356 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

ways, till its reality seems undeniable, and till 
the patient is carried away by its impulse. 

At other times, similar hallucinations are 
found, as the result of antecedent impressions* 
and their associated groups ; and these also are 
invested with all the air of truth and reality. 

In this state, actual feelings are disregarded ; 
while the morbid images supply their place, and 
really seem to be the positive results of sensa- 
tion ; and they thus gain the supremacy over 
the reasoning powers. 

These hallucinations, however fugitive at 
first, may become permanent, and they then 
constitute delirium or insanity. 

Cerebral disorder is often attended by un- 
conquerable wakefulness, great restlessness, and 
irritability. 

The attendant condition of the brain is pecu- 
liarly favourable to the production of morbid 
sensorial and intellectual impressions, and easily 
glides into a more formidable state of disease. 

Cerebral disorder is accompanied by certain 
deviations from the usual manners and habits 
of the individual : he is not the same creature, 
but is commonly absorbed by one dominant 
idea. 

Moral causes, especially powerful mental 
emotion, will often produce cerebral disorder ; 



CHAPTER XVII, 357 

and this being originated, there will follow 
deepening and more multiplied morbid mani- 
festations, till the patient, becoming decidedly 
insane, ceases to be an accountable agent. 

Yet moral treatment ^ and all the high sanc- 
tions of religious motive, wiil be insufficient to 
remove cerebral disorder, unless other remedies 
be directed likewise to the brain, with all its 
associated sympathies. 

This state of cerebral disorder, however 
originating in moral causes, and however im- 
pressed with a sacredness of character, from 
the high value and importance of religious mo- 
tive and management, is yet accompanied with 
certain other bodily effects, which cannot with 
any semblance of truth be referred to any 
other than a bodily cause ; such, for instance, 
as feebleness of the function of volition, palsy, 
various muscular irritations, and, above all, 
the expression of the countenance. 

If these bodily effects can be easily traced 
to primary irritation of the brain, it must be 
remembered, that they will also operate a re- 
flective influence upon that organ, and will 
place it in a situation peculiarly favourable to 
erroneous and perverted mental manifestations ; 
and peculiarly liable to the development of all 
its morbid sympathies. 



358 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

The intermittent, and remittent character of 
several of the maladies of the brain, cannot 
attach to the influence of a spiritual immaterial 
principle ; and therefore they more clearly 
connect the morbid manifestations of mind 
with their organic medium. 

Hence, cerebral disorder may be allowed to 
be capable of producing the perversion of men- 
tal manifestation, and of giving rise to those 
unreal images which have been termed appari- 
tions. 

Various causes produce diseased manifesta- 
tions of mind ; and first, original rnalconformation 
will occasion idiotcy, in which there is an ap- 
parent obliteration of mental power; yet it 
cannot be believed for a moment, that the idiot 
has no soul. 

So, in old age, the brain undergoes a change, 
which unfits it for mental operation ; but surely 
the light of the spiritual principle is not ex- 
tinguished ; nor has its power become limited 
and diseased, just as it is approaching its 
transition from the veil of materiality, to the 
infinite brightness of unfading glory. 

A similar obliteration of healthy cerebral 
function is produced by water on the brain. 

Wounds of the brain will produce morbid 
symptoms of different, and even opposite cha- 



CHAPTER XVII. 359 

racters, according to the precise portion of 
brainular structure which may have become 
the subject of injury; according as the brain 
shall be subjected to, or free from, the pressure 
of surrounding bone ; according to the general 
shock which the brain may have received from 
the accident ; according to the greater or less 
loss of blood at the moment, and the greater 
or less degree of congestion in its vessels ; and 
according to the intensity of the subsequent 
re-action, and febrile constitutional irritation. 

Concussion of the brain simply, is generally 
attended by a complete loss of power and of 
recollection, together with the abolition of all 
the energy and integrity of mental manifesta- 
tion : carried to a certain length, death will 
ensue; but more frequently reaction takes 
place, and is attended by delirium, or insanity, 
the traces of which are commonly to be found 
in the existence of perverted action, long after 
the first effects have ceased. 

Compression of the brain will be attended 
with more or less alteration, and even abolition, 
of mental manifestation ; but commonly differ- 
ing in kind from the usual effects of concussion. 

These symptoms of spiritual disturbance are 
sometimes instantly relieved by taking off the 



360 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

pressure ; but at others, especially if inflam- 
mation shall have taken place, the return to 
perfect health is only through a lengthened 
series of perverted manifestations. 

Fever v^ill occasion large deviations from 
healthy brainular function ; and this, too, dif- 
fering according to the peculiar agency of the 
febrile morbific cause, but in every instance at- 
tended by perverted mental manifestation. 

Supposed visions are the frequent consequence 
of this state ; persons and situations appearing 
either as they would do in reality, or associated 
with some erroneous attribute. 

Hence, apparitions are traced, under certain 
circumstances, to a bodily morhid cause. 

But if this be granted, it can scarcely be 
denied, that other supernatural appearances 
may equally be referred to similar, or at least 
analogous, causes. 

Local inflammation of a slow disorganizing 
character, attacking the brain, or its mem- 
branes, perverts or destroys the power of in- 
tellectual operation. 

The whole class of nervous disorders con- 
tribute to impair, and under extreme circum- 
stances, to destroy, the manifestations of mind. 

Many of these may be eftectually resisted 



CHAPTER XVII. 361 

by a powerful effort of the ivill, thus showing 
the submission of the brain to the presiding 
spirit or mind. 

The same consequence is deduced from the 
good effect of certain remedies upon the men- 
tal manifestations, and especially by the sim- 
ple action of cold ; so totally inconsistent with 
all our ideas of spiritual essence. 

In hypochondriasis, in some instances, a 
primary effect is produced upon the brain, and, 
in others, that which is secondary, through the 
medium of the stomach ; but the ultimate effect 
in both cases is purely cerebral. Mental causes 
will also produce the same disturbing effects. 

Hence again, mental and bodily causes are 
found to produce the same consequences ; they 
are originally of a distinct nature, and how can 
they produce identical effects, but by acting 
upon one intermediate organ, common to both, 
and capable alike of receiving impressions from 
body and mind ? No other organ than the brain 
can occupy such a relative situation. 

The hypochondriac loses the power of the 
will over his mental manifestations : they are 
perverted, and present to the mind, images of 
the most unreal character : 

Yet hypochondriasis is produced by primary 
or secondary irritation of the brain : 



362 ESSAY ON SUPERSTJTION. 

Therefore, irritation of the brain is the com- 
mon accompaniment of these unreal images. 

It is reasonable to infer, that irritation of the 
brain, which we know exists, is the cause of 
these unreal images, rather than to assume 
that it is some peculiar state of the spiritual 
principle, concerning the mode of whose real 
existence we can know nothing. 

The hypocondriac hears voices, sees visions^ 
is assailed by unearthly visitants, and receives 
admonitions; and, moreover, all these voices, 
visions, and revelations, are capable of being 
superseded, and swept away by medical treat- 
ment ; a clear proof of their origin and ten- 
dency. 

Hence, a certain state of the brain always 
occasions disordered manifestations of mind ; 
and again, these have been traced back to 
functional diseases of the brain. 

In both states, unreal and perverted images, 
even veritable apparitions, the offspring of 
brainular disturbance, are presented to the 
mind, with a degree of impressiveness which 
is superior to that of reason, and which there- 
fore supersedes its power, and annihilates the 
influence of judgment. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Same subject continued. 

In proceeding with our analysis of the preced- 
ing argument, we shall observe, that the same 
view is confirmed by attending to the phenomena 
of sleep, and especially of its morbid states. 

Sleep is not a state of absolute quiescence; 
of the negation, or even the suspension of ac- 
tion : indeed, some organs appear to possess 
a greater degree of activity than usual, because, 
the intellectual function being less employed, 
a greater supply of nervous energy can be af- 
forded without destroying the balance of con- 
stitutional power. 

Thus is shown the imwearied action of the 
brain during sleep, inasmuch as it gives off 
such an amount of nervous energy as shall be 
sufficient to maintain the activity and integrity 
of those functions. 

But many of its intellectual manifestations 
are absolutely laid aside ; and hence it should 
seem^ that, as an intellectual organ, it is more 



364 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

liable to exhaustion than as a corporeal agent ; 
and this is confirmed, day by day, by the 
greater fatigue, and the more rapid failure of 
power, which attaches to mental exertion, than 
to bodily labour. 

Therefore, sleep seems to have been provided 
for the intellectual brain ; and, in consequence 
of this state, it ceases to be the servant of the 
spiritual principle, and is no longer obedient 
to the will. 

This repose of the brain is often incomplete ; 
and then it continues a certain kind of action, 
without the guidance of the judgment, or the 
government of the will. 

Whenever the brain is in a state of irritation, 
uiet sleep is impossible ; and a state of morbid 
wakefulness is not unfrequently the result. 

The brain may be roused to a state of ex- 
citation by various stimuli ; and therefore i 
may be acted upon by different disturbing 
causes, with w^hich we are at present unac- 
quainted ; because we know not the mode of 
relation subsisting between that viscus and its 
distant associated organs. 

Thus, then, the brain is excited by various 
causes, producing corresponding varied effects, 
yet all agreeing in disturbing the manifesta- 
tions of mind. 

In ixverie there is a continued action of the 



CHAPTER XVIII. 365 

brain, without the support of volition or the 
corrective influence of the judgment ; and in 
this state unreal images are presented to the 
mind, with all the semblance of truth and 
reality. Under these circumstances, therefore, 
it is capable of producing images, imagining 
situations, and inventing consequences without 
reason or truth. 

But if so, some other analogous, though un- 
known, process may be the result ; and this 
unknown action may be the creation of spec- 
tral forms : at least, there is nothing irrational 
in this supposition. 

This view is supported by the phenomena 
of nightmare, which are purely cerebral, and 
always disappear upon perfect wakening. It 
is most frequent and severe in that peculiar 
condition of the brain which has arisen from 
intellectual over-action, — namely, the irritabi- 
lity which is the consequence of specific ex- 
haustion. 

During this state, the distress of the patient 
is occasioned by his being placed in some 
situation of danger, and by his inability to es- 
cape from it; and he awakes in violent agitation, 
with palpitation of the heart, and perspiration, 
which point out the really intense agony he 
has suffered from this visionary impression. 



366 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION 



produced by a physical condition of the organ 
of mind. 

Nightmare is generally preceded by un- 
wonted drowsiness, aud brainular oppression, 
which enables those who are acquainted with 
its history, to predict its arrival. 

Nightmare may be sometimes dependent 
upon the irritation of a distant organ : but 
where this is the case, still, it can only be ac- 
complished through the intervention of the 
brain; for the patient must be asleep, or he 
does not suffer from the attack. 

Any powerfully exciting cause applied to 
the brain late at night will almost unerringly 
bring on the attack in those who are so pre- 
disposed, and its intensity will be regulated by 
the greater or less morbid susceptibility of the 
cerebral organ, becoming aggravated in its 
maladies, and receding in its convalescence. 

The illusions which accompany nightmare 
are so complete, that the patient verily believes 
in their actual existence ; and it is only by 
the influence of the judgment, reason, and ex- 
perience, that he can be disenchanted of their 
fallacious impression, or can be convinced of 
the contrary truth. 

These illusions involve the appearance of dif- 
ferent individuals; their speaking and acting 



CHAPTER XVTIT. 367 

according to certain supposed circumstances, 
and all the consequences of such words and 
actions. 

But if so, there is nothing unreasonable in 
supposing that similar illusions may attend 
other morbid conditions of the brain^ during 
the continuance of which it is even more com- 
pletely abstracted from the salutary influence 
of judgment, reason, and experience. 

I proceed to the phenomena of dreaming. 

There is great activity of the brain during 
sleep : and this is not a consequence of the 
increased energy of the immaterial principle ; 
because, if it were so, we should have to re- 
cord perfect ideas, refined images, and correct 
notices, resulting from the agency of the spi- 
ritual principle disencumbered of its material 
shackles ; instead of the common result, im- 
perfect ideas, confused images, and incorrect 
impressions. 

Here again, therefore, we trace dreaming to 
a peculiar action of the material brain, not of 
the immaterial principle. 

The immaterial spirit is not necessarily en- 
gaged in the phenomena of dreaming : in sleepy 
the brain is not its servant, because, during 
that state, it is unfitted for intellectual opera- 
tions. When it does act, it is without the 



368 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

controul of the presiding mind ; and therefore 
the pathological state of dreaming, instead of 
the healthy process of correct thinking, is pro- 
duced. 

The modes of association^ and the habits of 
brainular action, are shown by the phenomena 
of dreaming, especially b}^ that kind of dream 
which occurs upon being first wakened in the 
morning. 

Dreams result from some uncontrolled or 
morbid action of the brain ; either primary, 
from its own disorders, or secondary and sym- 
pathetic, arising from irritation of a distant 
organ, in close communion wath itself. 

This position is confirmed by the dreams of 
animals, surely not arising from spiritual 
agency ; and yet they will in consequence bark, 
and utter various automatic expressions of joy 
or sorrow. 

Farther, this tendency to dreaming in ani- 
mals is increased by any cause of powerful ex- 
citation to the brain. 

The great variety of dreams may be accounted 
for by the kind and degree of disturbance to 
which the brain has been subjected, whether 
from primary or secondary irritation ; each se- 
parate disorder of every organ and function of 
the body thus forming a source of dreaming ; 



CHAPTER XVIIl. 369 

and all combine in establishing a groundwork 
capable of constant change, and of almost end- 
less extension and variation. 

There are no dreams in sound and quiet 
sleep, when the body is healthy and the mind 
at ease, because there exists no cause of organic 
irritation to the brain ; but dreams will be 
found among the very first symptoms of ma- 
lady. 

In sleep, the manifestation of the intellectual 
faculties is suspended ; and therefore these do 
not enter into the component parts of dream- 
ing. There is always something wanting to 
constitute dreams perfect mental operations, 
and which absent, something stamps them with 
the character of deviation from correct think- 
ing ; consequently the apparently intellectual 
trains of dreams, are really and truly mere or- 
ganic associations. 

Dreams are not sleeping thoughts, influenced 
by that sinful change which has passed upon 
all men ; for since in this process there is no 
exercise of the will, there can be no responsi- 
bility : the organ of mind has suffered from the 
perverting influence of the Fall ; its manifesta- 
tions are become disordered, and dreaming con- 
stitutes one of its diseases. 

During sleep, the senses are incapable of con- 

B B 



370 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

trolling the wanderings of the intellectual 
function : but they are capable of receiving 
impressions, which will irritate the nerves, and 
form the basis of a dream, in the course of 
which may be produced, according to circum- 
stances of varied irritation, but not according 
to any principle of choice or selection, a mul- 
titude of ideas, thoughts, opinions, and halluci- 
nations. 

But these trains are imperfect, undefined, 
absurd, indifferently true or false, incoherent 
and extravagant. 

Therefore, they are not the production of the 
immaterial spirit, disencumbered of its material 
organ ; but do truly result from a continued 
action of the brain, after it has escaped the 
controul of the immaterial principle. 

An impression of bodily uneasiness received 
during the day, will often form the germ of a 
nocturnal dream; and thus affords another 
proof, that organic irritation, not mental opera- 
tion, is the proximate cause of dreaming. 

Many other circumstances will operate as 
exciting causes of dreams: such as, the act 
of turning in bed; change of temperature 
during the night ; medicines, particularly of 
the narcotic character ; mental emotion ; pro- 
tracted study ; intemperance of every kind ; 



CHAPTER XVIIT. 371 

fever of every description ; in fact, every point 
of local and constitutional irritation, in pro- 
portion to the intimacy of its communion with 
the brain. 

All these causes agree in producing a pe- 
culiar excitement and commotion of the brain, 
though often differing in kind and degree, and 
therefore giving rise to varying results in tlie 
complexion of the consequent images. 

In approaching sleep, under the influence 
of some one of these irritants, unreal images 
appear, fade, and pass away, sometimes with 
a great indistinctness of recollection ; while, 
upon other occasions, they leave an impression 
so vivid as to retain the semblance of truth, 
and so strong, that the individual cannot be 
convinced of its fallacy. 

This state is elucidated by the condition of 
the mildly insane ; in whom a very slight de- 
viation from the integrity of the brain will pro- 
duce amazing changes in its functions, in its 
intellectual power, and in its disposition to 
produce monstrous and incoherent images ; 
and these alterations will be increased during 
sleep. 

Brainular disease, or the disorder of any and 
every organ associated with it by nervous sym- 
pathy, will produce dreaming ; and this mor- 

B B 2 



372 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

bid state will derive its peculiarities from what- 
ever disturbance may form the first link in the 
chain of morbid function. 

The dreams of disease will be varied accord- 
ing to the nature and extent, duration, period, 
simplicity, or complication of the morbid ac- 
tion which produces them ; and also according 
to the temperament, habits, education, and 
peculiarities of the dreamer. 

To such a characteristic extent does this 
occur, that, although our knowledge is as yet 
too limited for such a purpose, it is most pro- 
bable that dreams will become symptoms, in 
a more advanced state of medical science, and 
that they will assist us in localizing disease. 

It is at least certain, that dreams do actually 
mark the approach, development, intensity, 
and gradual decline of malady, as well as the 
return to convalescence. 

The illusions which occur in dreaming, may 
frequently be shown to have been the ex- 
aggerated or sophisticated expression of a i^eal 
soisation ; thus again showing the connexion 
between dreams and their organic cause. 

The illusions attendant upon the dreams of 
insanity are most complete ; as also in that 
form of fever which more particularly attacks 
the nervous system. In both these cases, the 



CHAPTER XVIII. 373 

peculiar state of the brain, which occasions 
this morbid condition of its manifestations, is 
often suspended during the day, and again re- 
newed at night, so soon as the organ of mind 
shall have lost the opportunity of verifying its 
impressions through the medium of the senses. 

There is a manifest difference between 
dreams which arise from a primary, or se- 
condary irritation of the brain ; and between 
those which attend a hyper-energetic, or a 
depressed state of the organ, modified like- 
wise by the prevailing cast of constitution and 
character. 

These states may alternate, not only during 
one night, but also daring one dream ; which 
will serve to account for the greater or less 
degree of cohesion and rationality, which is 
often remarkable in the same dream. 

Dreams will be modified by a variety of 
physical and moral causes operating upon the 
brain ; particularly by literary labour, by the 
pursuits of benevolence, by the follies and fri- 
volities of the age, by the provocatives of so- 
ciety, and by various other analogous in- 
fluences. 

Now all these causes operate upon the brain, 
and modify its actions ; and many of them 



374 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

create irritation, produce dreaming, and cha- 
racterize its images. 

During sleep, man is unable to oppose the 
agency of these mental causes upon the brain ; 
because the combination of ideas is then in- 
voluntary, and becomes a stimulus to the men- 
tal organ to enter into new associations, and 
to give a greater variety of character to the 
dreams. 

Thus, in order to the production of dream- 
ing, brainular action must be dissociated from 
the w^ill ; and then, being subjected to its own 
agency, or to the impulse it has received from 
organic causes, these phenomena occur. 

Dreams are also frequently produced from 
the recollected impressions of the preceding, 
or of some antecedent day ; for impressions 
once made upon the brain, may ever after- 
wards be revived by its own action, spontane- 
ously and without effort ; yet here also, brainu- 
lar action must precede, as well as in the case 
of accidental association, such as in dreams of 
hunger^ and thirst, &c. 

Somnambulism is a kind of dream, in which 
certain intimately associated habits, rendered 
automatic by reiterated employment during 
the waking state, are re-produced in sleep. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 375 

without apparent volition ; these actions cor- 
responding with the feelings, emotions, or sen- 
timents, which constitute the mental fabric of 
the dream. 

This peculiar excitement of the brain may 
be referred for its cause to the influence of 
some intellectual stimulus ; or to some morbid 
agency, under the impression of its own dis- 
eases; or to the sympathetic disturbance, 
arising from some other suffering organ. 

To this may be added the operation of cus- 
tom, and of having had the organ of mind 
intensely fixed upon one object. But custom, 
or habit, is a purely cerebral impression, and 
is associated in every instance with a peculiar 
state of the brain, to such an extent, that its 
influence becomes instinctive, and that its as-, 
sociated actions are performed without the as- 
sistance of the will. 

Second sight is a faculty which may be refer- 
red to a species of somnambulism, in which 
the mental manifestations confer with them- 
selves, and produce a prospective result. Many 
instances of second sight, no doubt, depend 
upon that knowledge of circumstances wHich, 
in spite of every precaution, will creep abroad 
when any great events are about to be accom- 
plished. But this will by no means account 



376 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

wholly for the many circumstances in which 
the seer claims, that 

"The sunset of life gives me mystical lore, 
Anci coming events cast their shadows before." 

This alleged faculty attaches only to advanced 
life, when the brainular function is already im- 
paired : it is commonly associated with cerebral 
excitement, and is peculiarly remarkable ''when 
the hour is on him f and its occurrence is to be 
found principally among a most superstitious 
people, where every glen is inhabited by an 
endless variety of spirits, good or bad. Let 
these characteristic circumstances be appre- 
ciated, and let there be added to their effect 
the influence exerted upon the seer and his 
auditors, by having been brought up with the 
full belief in the existence of this faculty ; and 
the silent, unseen, but most deeply influential 
operation of this firm belief, upon the mental 
organ : and then will it be unhesitatingly class- 
ed with other phenomena, which result from 
similar states of cerebral excitement, when the 
brain has escaped from the guidance of the 
will and the judgment, and continues its mor- 
bid function without any safeguard or direction 
from the immortal principle. 

Animal magnetism, another very analogous 
condition, is most easily produced upon a 



CHAPTER XVIIT. 377 

brain in an irritable and excited state ; more 
readily in females than in males. The concur- 
rence of the magnetizer and magnetized is 
necessary to the completion of the process, 
as well as the full determination of their will 
towards its accomplishment : and certain actions 
of the hands appear to be a very important 
adjuvant to the perfect formation of magnetic 
somnambulism. 

During the magnetic orgasm there occurs a 
highly excited and disturbed action of the 
brain. 

g^Hence the preceding and accompanying phe- 
nomena of this state are purely physical, and 
result from the operation of brain upon brain. 

Doubtless the production of magnetic phe- 
nomena is greatly assisted by the powerful im- 
pression upon the mind : but they can never be 
fully manifested without the intervention of the 
material organ ; and therefore they may safely 
be referred to a physical, not a spiritual agency. 

During the continuance of magnetic somnam- 
bulism, there occurs (so it is alleged) a power of 
predicting certain physical future events ; an 
impression very analogous to the function of 
second sight, or even to presentiment, &c. 

Thus the effects, produced by a known phy- 
sical condition, are similar to those for which a 



378 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

spiritual and supernatural agency has been 
claimed : if it be granted to the one, it cannot 
be withheld from the other; and if it be denied 
to one, it must be so to both. 

And since, in one instance, it has been clearly 
traced to a physical origi?2, there is good ground 
for believing the same origin for the similar 
condition. 

In all these, and analogous states, the imagi- 
nation has a wonderful influence in occasioning 
that peculiar excitement of the brain which is 
favourable to the production of such mental 
manifestations : especially to all the undefined 
creations of fear; and, above all, to the belief 
m apparitions. 

This excited state of the imagination pro- 
duces a susceptibility to morbid brainular ac- 
tion, and is, in itself, a frequent cause of dream- 
ing ; because it constitutes the precise state of 
peculiar adaptation to erroneous and spectral 
impressions. 

Visions during trances, or prolonged slum- 
bers, where they are not the offspring of impos- 
ture or self-delusion, can only be ascribed to 
a peculiar morbid action of the brain. 

These visions will be characterized by the 
predominance of the essential attributes of the 
physical temperament of the individual, accord- 



CHAPTER XVIII. 379 

ing as this may have been simply sanguineous, 
or melancholic, or choleric, or phlegmatic ; or 
as these simpler states may have been more or 
less combined in the same character. 

These facts show that a morbid condition 
of the brain will occasion the creation of unreal 
images ; and that their influence upon the 
manifestations of mind is very extensive and 
mischievous. 

In what consists this peculiar morbid condi- 
tion of the brain, we know not ; because we 
are unacquainted with the mode of its healthy 
action^ and therefore cannot ascertain the devi- 
ations from its perfect functions. 

But the same truth will apply to all the 
organic functions of the body. This only do 
we certainly know, that all these functions will 
be disturbed by any cause which prevents the 
quiet calm of the organ. 

And, if so, may not the same cause, that is, 
organic initation, disturb the function of the 
brain, in its most complex office ; namely, that 
of manifesting the powers and attainments of 
the mind ? 

All histories of apparitions, &c. rest on a basis 
of human testimony, rather than on any pro- 
cess of reasoning: and facts are alleged in sup- 
port of supernatural visitations ; these facts 



380 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

forming the evidence of so many persons of 
assumed health of body and soundness of 
mind. 

But in some instances this supernatural in- 
fluence, which was fully believed to exist in an 
earlier state of society, and which then was not 
wanting in facts for its support, has utterly 
vanished before the *' morning air" of educa- 
tion, science, and religion. 

If so, doubt is thrown on human testimony ; 
and we are constrained to believe, that these 
histories have been fabricated by the designing, 
or that their authors have been self-deceived : 
and if we adopt the latter and more pleasing 
alternative, what is so likely to have occasioned 
such delusion, with rightly-intentioned indivi- 
duals, as a peculiar state of brainular irritation, 
giving rise to spectral appearances? 

Dreams are sometimes supposed to have been 
commissioned by Divine Providence, for the 
discovery of crime; a revelation having been 
thus made to some individuals of circumstances 
which have led to the detection of the criminal ; 
and this is made to rest upon the justice of the 
Almighty, whose vengeance pursues the wicked, 
and sufFereth not a murderer to live. But God 
is merciful as well as just, and rejoices to 
extend the day of grace : he willeth not the 



CHAPTER XVIII. 381 

death of a sinner, but rather that he should 
turn unto him and live. 

Moreover, the present life is not the day of 
judgment or of retribution, but of proffered par- 
don in Christ Jesus. This is not that approach- 
ing period, when the Divine justice will be fully- 
displayed : there is now an inequality in the lot 
of the righteous and the wicked, which will 
only be rendered right at the last great day of 
account ; so that it is not inconsistent with the 
dealings of Providence, that the wicked should 
escape punishment in the present life. 

Moreover, it has happened, that the innocent 
have suffered, instead of the really guilty, in 
consequence of error arising from a judgment 
formed upon circumstantial evidence; another 
proof, that errors are permitted here, in order 
that we may cast our eyes forward, for the 
full display of God's perfect and impartial 
justice. 

On the contrary supposition, the perfect 
holiness of Jehovah would be impugned by the 
present escape of the actual perpetrator of 
crime, and by the destruction of the innocent. 

Besides, this result of discovery is by no means 
invariable ; and if it be neither necessary nor 
undeviating, we may well question the existence 
of any special interference of Providence, in 



382 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

order to its being obtained, since these would 
be qualities of such providential agency. 

Finally, dreaming may be almost always, if 
not always^ accounted for on other principles, 
less liable to objection, and particularly upon 
primary or sympathetic irritation of the brain, 
arising from organic disturbance of some one 
of the viscera of the body ; or from moral causes 
operating immediately or intermediately upon 
the mental organ, the brain. This has been 
exemplified in the narrative of the discovery 
of the murder of Maria Marten by William 
Corder. 

Besides, it is really a greater instance of pro- 
vidential wisdom and care, when events are 
brought about by the agency of ordinary means, 
concurring to an end, rather than by any 
special interference with God's established or- 
der of nature. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The same subject continued. 

With regard to the vision of angels, &e., the 
grounds on which this vision is not to be 
expected, in these latter days, have been 
already stated ; and it may be further argued, 
that in the early period of the Christian church, 
there v^^as always an object to be accomplished, 
which was necessary to the completion of the 
whole will of God ; but that now, no such end 
is to be effected by that species of revelation to 
expiring mortality, for which Divine authority 
has been claimed. 

There is also another striking difference be- 
tween the two states : in the former, the indivi- 
duals were in high health, with unimpaired 
faculties, and were enabled to perceive what it 
pleased God to reveal ; but in the latter, the 



384 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

spirit is just hovering on the verge of an eternal 
scene, yet is still confined to its material tene- 
ment, though crumbling down around it ; and 
whatever it may perceive, is through the me- 
dium of that corporeal habitation. 

This surely is easily conceivable : an inward 
revelation is not perceived by the external 
senses ; yet the recipient of such revelation can 
only be conscious of its existence, by attending 
to, and perceiving it, by reflecting upon, and 
remembering it, and by a determination, in the 
strength of divine grace, to act upon it. But 
attention, perception, reflection, memory, judg- 
ment, and volition, are intellectual faculties, 
whose functions are performed through the me- 
dium of the brainular organ : therefore it is 
only through it, that man become sconscious of 
such revelation ; and therefore, according to all 
the analogy of the Divine government, such 
communication would not be made to an ex- 
piring organ, but rather at a period when the 
full tide of its faculties was unbroken. 

The day of such revelation is now only 
marked on the page of prophetic history. 

Still further, these visions, when they do 
occur, are referred to the bodily seiises, in proof 
of their presence ; and, at the same time, the 
patient suffers from other ocular spectra, and 



CHAPTER XIX. . 385 

sees before him objects which have no real 
existence. 

Moreover, these visions are not confined to 
the death-bed of the Christian, but are com- 
mon to the closing scene of those over v>7liose 
ashes the flickering and feeble flame of hope 
dares not linger, and expires in gloomy un- 
certainty ; because their lives had been a con- 
tinuous tissue of disobedience, and they had 
come to their end, in wilful rebellion against 
the Most High. 

And lastly, this vision of angels is also, com- 
mon to the maniac, who mixes up himself with 
the glorious scenes of his own hallucinative 
creations. 

But if these premises be correct, it is surely 
more conducive to the glory of God, to believe 
that these appearances own a bodily origin; and 
that they are ascribable to the imperfect^ fail- 
ing, disordered, or perverted powers of the or- 
gan, of mental manifestation. 

This train of reasoning will not, in any de- 
gree, apply to the revelations of Scripture, 
which are of a totally difl'erent order ; and 
have been vouchsafed to man, for the founda- 
tion of his faith, the regulation of his heart, and 
the conduct of his life. 

c c 



386 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Yet, although truth cannot be influenced, in 
any measure, by the peculiar state of the phy- 
sical temperament, and more particularly of 
the intellectual organ, still the impression of 
that truth may be so affected and altered, and 
the consequent zeal and earnestness with which 
it is received ; or the caution, hesitancy, doubt, 
and prej udice, which absorb and enthral the mind . 

Presentiment \evY generally results from some 
antecedent physical or moral impression, and 
involves a peculiar state of the brain, either oc- 
casioned by the actual development or threat- 
ened approach of primary or sympathetic dis- 
ease ; or artificially induced by the agency of 
animal magnetism, during which state it is 
enabled to feel the approach of any greut dis- 
aster to the constitution. 

Presentiments are supported by a vartiey of 
warnings or omens ; and these are occasionally 
rendered true by the influence of the terror 
they excite : generally speaking, the predicted 
consequences do not follow ; and, when they 
do, they form the exception, and not the rule. 

Presentiments are sometimes to be found 
existing without any traceable basis, and they 
are then generally arising from a physical state 
attending the incubation of disease. 



CHAPTER XIX. 387 

The case of martyrs is not depending upon 
supernatural agency ; neither can it be re- 
ferred, without great absurdity, and a grievous 
sophistication of sound reasoning, to a physical 
condition, in which great suffering not only 
ceases to be painful, but actually becomes the 
source of grateful sensation (Dr. Hibbert in 
loco). The highly-elevated state of the martyr's 
mind, and the glory which is to follow ; the 
desire to be found faithful unto death, and to 
afford an example of sure trust and confidence 
in God, and reliance upon his promises ; added 
to the corporeal agency of these powerful im- 
pressions upon the brain ; would increase its 
energy, and confer extraordinary powers of 
manifestation, and keep up a degree of animal 
excitement, by which the patient is carried out 
of himself, and his feelings are wrought up to 
ecstacy. But this is a brainular state, and one 
which predisposes to the creation of super- 
natural appearances. 

The Christians support under trials, and in 
death, in the fires and the waters of temptation, 
is derived from the ordinary operations of the 
Holy Spirit, and not from the intervention of 
supernatural creations. 

There is no instance of endurance recorded 
on the part of the Christian martyr, which has 

c c 2 



388 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 



not been paralleled by the serenity of the hea- 
then under torture; consequently the fallacious 
argument from experience is here quite in- 
applicable. 

The agency of evil spirits is generally refer- 
red to possession and temptation. 

In the former case, it is commonly supposed 
that there is a contention between good and 
evil spirits for the supremacy, and for command 
over the soul. This state is to be referred to 
insanity, dependent upon a morbid condition 
of the brain, and is usually accompanied by a 
disposition to suicide. 

Temptation may be ascribed to a physical or 
a moral cause ; but in neither case does it own 
a supernatural origin. Its peculiar agency 
is exerted upon the same principle which pro- 
duced the fall of our first parents, and which 
now operates upon their posterity, as it did 
also upon them, through the medium of their 
sensorial and intellectual capacities; its pre- 
sent influence being augmented by the con- 
sequences of that fall, and by the introduction 
of those depraved mental conditions which 
render the spiritual principle assailable to the 
assaults of sin ; or which, in other words, pre- 
pare it for listening to the voice of temptation. 

Satan, as the agent in presenting temptation 



CHAPTER XIX. 389 

to the mind, avails himself of his knowledge 
of these particular aptitudes ;— and suggests 
precisely that form of disobedience to the com- 
mands of the Most High, which will find the 
readiest access to the spiritual principle, through 
the intervention of constitutional^ or habitual 
tendencies. But these form no excuse for 
yielding to temptation ; because the presiding 
mind, and its peculiar attribute, the will, are 
given to man for his guidance and government, 
and therefore he is responsible for his choice 
of evil, and his preference of that broad road 
which leadeth to destruction. 

The foregoing principles apply themselves 
naturally to the doctrine and belief of appari- 
tions. 

There is a peculiar state of the brain, and 
that a morbid state, in which these appearances 
are not infrequent. This is generally the re- 
sult of impending disease, but may be produced 
by the action of certain remedies. 

In many cases of supposed apparitions, the 
anticipated results have not followed ; and of 
those instances in which these seem to have 
been consecutive, the most remarkable may 
be accounted for on natural principles. 

Apparitions are presented to spiritual con- 
temptation only ; they have no real existence ; 



390 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

and therefore the senses which give them 
form and substance, and other material pro- 
perties, must be deceived ; and this illusion 
must be attended by deviation from healthy 
action of the mental manifestations, and there- 
fore of the manifesting organ. 

Dr. Hibbert^s hypothesis of a renovation of 
past feelings is untenable, because it will not 
account for all the cases which it ought to ex- 
plain : it will not account for recalling these 
impressions at the particular moment : it will 
not say why this apparent recollection is found 
to be invariable only during the continuance of 
a state of irritation of the brain ; and it will 
not explain the fear with which such an ap- 
parition is viewed, a principle so greatly op- 
posed to the delight with which we dwell upon 
the form, and look, and expression, of those 
whom we have loved and esteemed. 

Sceptical opinions are not fostered by refer- 
ring dreams, visions, voices, apparitions, &c. 
to a state of morbid irritation of the organ of 
mind. 

When the brain is disordered, the sensations 
impressed upon it are not lost, but perverted : 
the senses themselves are mere sentinels, 
placed as safeguards to the system ; and the 
power of receiving or combining, considering 



CHAPTER XIX. 391 

and weighing the results, rests entirely with 
the brain as the organ of mind, and depends 
upon its attention to the notices it receives. 

Mere impression is at all times unsatisfactory, 
till it has been referred to, and judged of, and 
estimated by the presiding mind, which deter- 
mines its truth and value, its fallacy and worth- 
lessness^ according to its possessing or to its 
wanting certain attributes of reality. 

The loss of sensation must depend upon a 
certain degree of paralysis of the sentient ex- 
tremities of the nerves ; a state of disease, 
which is much more frequently referrible to 
irritation of the brain, than of the local organ 
of sense. 

And supposing the disorder to be confined 
to the local organ, it will much more frequently 
happen that its function is unduly excited, than 
that it should be obliterated. 

This great activity and perversion do, not- 
withstanding, very generally result from pri- 
mary irritation of the brain ; and are accom- 
panied by sensorial illusions, and by the crea- 
tion of unreal images. 

But apparitions are intellectual illusions, 
and proceed from an irritated intellectual or- 
gan : hence the analogy of sensorial disease is 



392 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

in favour of the position assumed in the pre- 
sent Essay. 

This question is not one which involves the 
existence of spiritual beings : this is not de- 
nied ; nor as to the nature of their functions, 
for of this we have no means of judging. But 
it is this, whether certain apparitions, for which 
a spiritual origin has been claimed^ may not 
be accounted for, more simply, on another 
principle. 

Spiritual beings are not cognisable by the 
corporeal eye; their existence, therefore, can- 
not be demonstrated ; it must be received as 
a matter of faith. Of the mode of their access 
to the mind, or of their agency upon it, nothing 
is revealed ; but, so far as we are taught in Holy 
Scripture concerning spiritual influence, it 
differs in its essential character, and in every 
particular attribute, from that which is as- 
cribed to the modern ghost. 

Since the latter apparitions do not lead to 
any beneficial result, we believe them to differ, 
in their very nature, from the commissioned 
messengers of God's holy will. 

As instances of these alleged supernatural 
appearances have been distinctly traced to 
phenomena of bodily agency, it is most rational 



CHAPTER XIX. 393 

to refer certain other unknown but analogous 
conditions to an identical or a similar cause. 

It is unnecessary to call in the aid of spiritual 
agency, where a peculiar morbid state of the 
brain will account for the disordered mental 
manifestation. 

Nor is this explanation to be abandoned, 
because it does not solve all the difficulties of 
the subject: this is scarcely to be expected 
of any natural process. How much less, there- 
fore, can we hope to unravel all the hidden 
laws of the finest and most complicated portion 
of the living machinery, — even the brain! 

Neither is it just to call in the aid of spiritual 
influence, which cannot be explained at all, in 
order to account for a physical morbid state, 
which may be partly explained upon natural 
principles, but of which we cannot fathom all 
the peculiarities. 

No proof has ever yet been attempted, of 
the identity of the modern apparition with the 
spiritual influence of the sacred writings. 

It is allowed that man has no faculty by 
which he can perceive spiritual objects ; and 
therefore some deviation from perfect health, 
that is, some morbid state, must be necessary 
to this perception. 

It then only becomes a question whether 



394 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

apparitions are the creation of a peculiar mode 
of cerebral irritation ; or whether, they being 
real spiritual existences, this peculiar morbid 
irritation is necessary to their perception ? 

But if in either case morbid action must 
exist, it is surely much more agreeable to 
reason and revelation, that intellectual and sen- 
serial illusiojis should be the production of irri- 
tated brain ; rather than that this form of disease 
should be developed, in order to confer an 
additional power upon the brain, to enlarge its 
faculties, and to enable it to rece^ive notices which 
could in no other way be obtained. 

If the opposite conclusion be maintained, 
surely ?207ze can decide the Vind and degree of this 
morbid state, which may be necessary to confer 
the newly-created faculty ; and who is to dis- 
tino'uish between it and manv forms of inci- 
pient insanity? 

The instance referred to in the history of 
Elisha is, throughout, the relation of a miracu- 
lous interference of the Most High on behalf 
of his servant ; and is, therefore, classed with 
other miracles, which have long since ceased 
from the present age of the Christian church. 

The tendency to scepticism, as connected 
with this question, arises, not from the belief 
of the dependance of mind upon matter for its 



CHAPTER XIX. 395 

manifestation, but from the prevalence of prac- 
tical infidelity : from the desire of the heart 
to lose sight of its accountability, and from the 
wish to refer its wanderings to some kind of 
supernatural influence, involuntary, and there- 
fore in every instance irresponsible. 

This fatal tendency is corrected by uphold- 
ing man's accountability, and the supremacy 
of his will; and by separating the results of 
simple brainular action, after it has escaped 
the control of the presiding mind, from the 
effects of spiritual influence. Thus man is left 
without excuse, and is brought back to the 
broken law of God, and its consequences, the 
wrath of that holy Being, the necessity for re- 
pentance, and the need of a Saviour. 

Far from this explanation leading man to 
undervalue the intervention of a superintending 
Providence, the more deeply he becomes ac- 
quainted with nature's operations, the more does 
he see of the wisdom, and power, and mercy, 
and love, of every appointment ; the more fully 
therefore does he receive the revelations of His 
will, with meekness and obedience. 

It has been stated that all the histories 
of apparitions rest on the same basis of human 
testimony. But this is not a safe foundation 
for belief, since it is liable to be acted upon by 



396 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

prejudice, — is subject to error^ is disturbed by- 
feeling and passion, and is acted upon by many 
hidden motives. 

It is absurd to claim the authority of indivi- 
duals so circumstanced in favour of ghosts ; and 
yet, on the other hand, to reject the explana- 
tions of reason and science ; and to set at 
nought the experience, not of those M^ho have 
never seen apparitions, but of those w^ho, having 
seen them, have not been deluded into a belief 
of their real and spiritual existence, but v^ho 
have accounted for them upon physical princi- 
ples. Surely these demand, at least, an equal 
share of attention ; and if each were fairly 
dealt by, there would be no fear for the result ; 
and reason and common sense would triumph 
over groundless apprehension and superstitious 
fear. 

By these results, the existence of a supreme 
superintending Providence is established, and 
its ways towards man are justified ; for God is 
infinitely holy and wise and good. 

When a natural explanation can be found for 
that which is difficultly conceivable upon any- 
other principle, it is the duty of the Christian 
humbly to accept such explanation ; especially 
when it offers a beautiful exposition of the 



CHAPTER XTX. 397 

debasing influence of the Fall upon the mani. 
Testations of the spiritual principle. 

Thus, by withdrawing the agency of Omni- 
potence from the shadowy wand of superstition, 
its perfect knowledge and its holy operations 
are vindicated from the unhallowed creations of 
mortality ; and the influence of the word and 
Spirit of God is for ever separated from the 
mimotic influence, which results from a disor- 
dered state of the animal fibre. 

In fact, they only impugn the power of 
Omnipotence, who question the agency, upon 
spiritual mind, of its organic medium of mani- 
festation ; and who deny that disorder of such 
medium must be followed by defective, or ex- 
cessive, or perverted manifestations ; and con- 
sequently, who disbelieve that primary or sym- 
pathetic irritation of the brain may suflice for 
the creation of apparitions. 

The inhalation of nitrous-oxyde gas produces 
an eff"ect upon the brain, admirably adapted to 
the calling up of visions and apparitions. 

But what is still more important to remark 
is, that the eflect of this impression differs 
according to the peculiarity of the physical tem- 
perament of each individual ; or to the varying 
condition of that temperament (of health and 
disease) at the hour of its exhibition. 



398 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

These facts afford two important conclusions: 
first, apparitions and unreal images are pro- 
duced by a cause operating exclusively upon 
the brain ; and next, the specific character of 
these apparitions, arising from the same source 
of cerebral irritation, will vary according to the 
predominant constitution, or to its fluctuating 
state of organic function. 

Nay, more : the peculiar temperament being 
given, the precise effect of this agent may be 
calculated beforehand. 

Other medicines of a similar, though not 
identical nature, will produce other morbid 
states of the nervous system, which will concur 
in the creation of this particular influence : some 
illustrations of this fact have been given from 
the agency of belladona, stramonium, hyosci- 
amus, aconite, opium, &c. 

But, if so, many phenomena usually ascribed 
to spiritual agency may be more correctly shown 
to be dependent upon a peculiar condition of 
the brain. 

Nor is this extraordinary, since it is the ap- 
pointed organ for the manifestation of mind; 
since it is subjected to the general laws of 
organic life ; and since the curse of original sin 
has introduced disease and disorder of that 
organ, and associated with it all the sufferings of 



CHAPTER XIX. 399 

all the other organs of the body : hence really 
every morbid change of organic function, or of 
mental manifestation, may be said to result from 
this fell influence. 

The general histories of apparitions may 
be referred for their cause to cerebral irrita- 
tion, arising from a morbid impression, prima- 
rily made either upon the mind or body. 

Some accounts may be traced to the agency 
of superstitious influence impressed upon the 
mental organ in early childhood, and recalled in 
after life, with an unnatural degree of vivid- 
ness. 

The recollection of such impression is pro- 
portioned to its original intensity ; to the atten- 
tion which it engaged at the time ; and to the 
number and interest of its subsequent associa- 
tions. But, if so, early impressions are of the 
first consequence, because their intensity is 
proportioned to their novelty and freshness ; 
they insure the undivided attention; and they 
operate upon unsophisticated mind, animated 
by the glowing desire of youthful sensa- 
tion, and by an intense craving after excite- 
ment. 

Besides, it is the nature of the organ upon 
which these impressions are made, that they do 
not weaken by the lapse of time, and by the 



400 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

common effect of distance in diminishing influ- 
ence; but that they re-appear with original, if 
not with augmented power, however long may 
have been the interval. For this reason, the 
brain never thoroughly supersedes the effect of 
early over-excitement ; and by it, in fact, it is 
prepared for morbid trains of thought, and for 
the creation of unreal images of terror. 

Cerebral irritation from bodily causes will 
likewise be another fruitful source of spiritual 
appearances ; the brain will cease to be a per- 
fect organ for mental manifestation ; and in this 
state of imperfection it will continue to act on 
without the guidance of the presiding mind, 
and will produce images, which have usually 
been attributed to supernatural agency. 

The most important of these cases are those 
in which there is a supposed appearance of 
departed spirits to distant friends, at the mo- 
ment of their dissolution from the expiring 
body ; and those which have been ascribed to 
the immediate 'personal intervention of the 
Deity. 

In the former class, if the spirits thus appear- 
ing be commissio?7ed, or even permitted bij Provi- 
dence, as a notice or warning of the death of 
certain individuals, the effect must be invaria- 
ble ; or it must form a portion of the govern- 



CHAPTER XIX. 401 

ment of a Being of infinite and immutable 
truth ; and therefore the whole hypothesis will 
be overturned by one such history of well-au- 
thenticated facts, in which the expected re- 
sult did not occur. This argument is furnished 
by the narrative of the Rev. Joseph Wilkins, 
published in the i^ecor^ of September 2, 1828. 

Viewed as a consequence of cerebral irrita- 
tion in two distant individuals, it is only an 
extraordinary coincidence ; it is possible : but 
contemplated as the result of supernatural 
agency to produce ^ false impression, and at the 
same time one which was painful and useless, it 
is impossible. 

The fallacy of the present instance being ad- 
mitted, and the essential characters of the divine 
proceeding, namely, truth and immutability, being 
wanting, the effect cannot justly be ascribed to 
the agency of the Almighty. 

Neither can it be referred to the influence of 
the evil spirit, because it wants that attribute of 
malignity, and that perversion of good, which 
must attach to demoniacal agency. 

This view of the subject is supported by the 
failure of the expected result in the history 
of A. B. 

The second position is illustrated by the nar- 
rative of the conversion of Colonel Gardiner. 

D D 



402 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

This case was attended by a most powerful dis- 
turbance of the nervous system, and was fol- 
lowed by severe illness ; and according to the 
views of the present Essay, was produced by 
the approach of that malady, through a peculiar 
agency exerted upon the brainular system during 
the incubation of disease. 

That the brain may be liable to illusory ex- 
citement, under such circumstances, is shown 
by the fact of the fallacious feeling of high healthy 
which often precedes, scarcely by an interval of 
five minutes, all the miserable feelings of 
indigestion. 

And if this acknowledged illusion be depend- 
ent upon so slight a disturbance of the general 
harmony of the system, it is not extraordinary 
that its more serious and threatening invasions 
should be preceded by the more deeply sha- 
dowed creations of a morbid brain. 

That this state proved the means of convict- 
ing a sinner, of arresting him in his course, and 
of making him feel and acknowledge the great 
power of God, is not a fact opposed to the pre- 
ceding argument ; because sickness, and espe- 
cially that which should make a deep impres- 
sion upon habitual associations, is precisely one 
of the most powerful means employed by Infi- 
nite Goodness, in its designs of wisdom and 



CHAPTER XIX. 403 

mercy, to awaken the sinner to a sense of his 
miserable condition, in order that he might be 
enabled to appreciate the suitableness of the 
provided ransom. 

Even affliction, induced by our own avoidable 
misconduct^ is often the minister of good. Not 
that God can be the author of evil, or that He 
can employ evil in his service. But the wicked 
agents of their own desires and devices are per- 
mitted, in following their own wills, to bring 
about the designs of the Almighty, and are thus 
overruled to his glory. 

So also, other powerful impressions upon the 
nervous system ; nay, even insanity itself, has 
been frequently rendered instrumental in the 
conviction and conversion of the sinner. 

Without, therefore, supposing any superna- 
tural influence, we have a most rational expla- 
nation of this mystery ; one which enlarges the 
heart, and fixes it upon the infinite goodness of 
God, instead of upon a very questionable agency, 
which has often been perverted to doubtful 
purposes. 

Besides, a similar appearance has often hap- 
pened, without its being followed by a corres- 
ponding result. 

And if the Almighty had condescended to 
employ this extraordinary revelation in bringing 

D D 2 



404 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

about his designs of mercy, it can scarcely 
be supposed that this would occur, without 
being followed by the alleged consequences. 
For, however under ordinary circumstances the 
sinner, in the hardness of his heart, may resist 
the striving of the Spirit, it cannot be allowed 
that this would have been the case where 
a miracle had been produced for this express 
purpose. 

Yet some very similar cases have happen- 
ed to the Atuhor, which were not followed by 
a similar consequence. Thus then the Almighty 
and all-wise Jehovah worked a miracle in vain ! 
— or rather will not natural circumstances ac- 
count for the physical origin of phenomena 
which, in the infinite mercy of God, were 
over-ruled to the everlasting benefit of the 
sinner ? 

But further; if these supernatural appear- 
ances be considered as the commissioned agents 
of the Omnipotent, to convince the hardened 
heart, it is impossible to resist the conclusion, 
that the same agency has been employed as a 
weapon against the spread of true religion in the 
world. Witness the revelation to the deistical 
Lord Herbert ; a fact which rests on the same 
basis with all other analogous facts of an oppo- 
site tendency^ — namely, human testimony. 



CHAPTER XIX. 405 

No portion of the providence of God can be 
opposed to his holy will ; yet this event in- 
volves (if it be admitted) such a false conclu- 
sion ; consequently apparitions cannot be re- 
ferred to spiritual agency without implicating 
the most alarming results: whereas, if they be 
ascribed to a bodily origin, although they may 
have been rendered a means of grace, and ef- 
fectual in arresting the sinner in his downward 
course, all is comprehensible and complete ; 
and we contemplate the ways of God to man 
with largely expanded feelings of gratitude and 

joy- 

The appearance of the dead or dying to their 
distant friends occurs during a disordered state 
of the brainular system, arising either from dis- 
ease of body, or in the peculiar condition of 
that organ which results from intense mentaj 
emotion. In either case, there will be re- 
marked a peculiar susceptibility to impressions 
of every kind, and a predisposition towards the 
indulgence of painful emotion. 

And this is a morbid state, not of the immate- 
rial, indestructible spirit, but of the organ 
through which its manifestations of action are 
made, its perceptions are received, and its 
impressions are conveyed : examples in proof 



406 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

of these positions have been given in the fore- 
going pages. 

By thus referring supposed spiritual agency 
to a purely bodily origin, I do not question or 
undervalue the influence of the Holy Spirit : my 
object is to vindicate this doctrine, to separate 
it from the adventitious states with which it 
has too frequently been associated ; and to dis- 
tinguish between the former irregular effects of 
supernatural agency, and the latter constant 
holy influence. 

This connexion of supernatural agency and 
unearthly visitants with bodily disease, has been 
clearly traced in many instances which have 
happened under the Author's own cognizance ; 
and enough surely has been adduced to esta- 
blish the position, that disorder of the cerebral 
system does occasion that peculiar condition of 
the mental organ, during the continuance of 
which these apparitions are sometimes pro- 
duced. 

It is not asserted that this is the case in every 
instance ; or that there can be no spiritual ap- 
pearance — but only thus : if these supernatural 
visitations may in any instance be satisfactorily 
accounted for on physical principles, who can 
deny the possibility of applying similar prin- 



CHAPTER XIX. 407 

ciples to all cases ? who is to define the dis- 
tinctive limits between sensorial illusion, and 
spiritual supernatural agency ? 

Hence, it is better to yield assent to an hypo- 
thesis which explains many phenomena, and 
reconciles many difficulties, and vindicates the 
conduct of the righteous Governor of the uni- 
verse ; than to adopt another mode of argu- 
mentation which assumes every thing, but de- 
fines and explains nothing ; which is involved 
in inextricable difficulty, which throws a cloud 
over the moral government of the Omnipotent, 
which is opposed to reason, and which is not 
sanctioned by experience. 

The narrative of the appearance of Lord 
Tyrone to Lady Beresford has been examined 
on account of its absurdity in detail, and of its 
forming one of the best authenticated ghost 
stories on record ; and it has been shown that 
this case falls strictly within the general rule, 
and did actually arise from morbid cerebral 
excitement. This is evinced by the nature of 
the symptoms, clearly indicating the existence 
of night-mare ; by the want of truth and con- 
sistency in this narrative; by the absurd and 
impossible notions which it upholds ; by the 
physical effects said to have been pro- 
duced by this spiritual agency ; and by the 



408 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

alleged consequences of the visitation — conse- 
quences most easily accounted for by other 
natural causes. 

The circumstances of the death of Lord Lyt- 
tleton have also been briefly examined by the 
same tests, and have been shown to be ascrib- 
able to similar physical causes. 

It is indeed true, that some cases may be at 
present inexplicable upon this principle^ and 
with our limited amount of knowledge,- but 
even then, which is the wiser plan ? to adopt 
a conclusion which does not admit of reasoning 
and explanation, or to embrace one which ex- 
plains much, though it may fail of accounting 
for the lohole of the phenomena ? 



CHAPTER XX. 

Conclusions arising from a review of the whole subject. 

We must just notice the inferences which 
arise from reviewing this train of argumentation, 
and some consequences which flow from it. 

The whole history of apparitions rests upon 
morbid brainular excitement, and, as far as the 
individual patient is concerned, is an illusion. 
The author of "^ Past Feelings Renovated" as- 
sumes, that *'an apparition is that only which 
is susceptible of mental perception, and is not 
subject to corporeal proof; illusion being, on 
the contrary, a visual deception, or miscon- 
ception of material objects ; phantasms being 
the unreal fancies of the mind." And this is 
a very convenient process, because it assumes 
the reality of the point in question, and at the 
same time affirms that it is not subjected to 



410 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

proof, thus furtively abstracting it from the 
province of reason. But suppose for a moment, 
that every apparition be not real, would not 
such exception to a general rule be classed as 
illusion? And since it is too much to affirm 
the reality of every history of supernatural ap- 
pearance, there must be cases in which indi- 
viduals deceive others, or are themselves de- 
ceived. In either case, illusion is produced ; 
and where then are the defined boundaries of 
the apparition which is real, and that which is 
illusory? Again, why limit illusion to a mis- 
conception of material objects, when reason, 
experience, and religion, loudly proclaim, that, 
in the present state of his existence, man is 
subject to a variety of physical, intellectual, 
and moral illusions ? The only answer that 
can be justly given to this inquiry, is, that it 
was convenient to get rid of the idea that an 
apparition might possibly be an illusion. Thus 
fails the fundamental position of the respected 
author of "Past Feelings Renovated." 

If the present hypothesis will not account 
for all the well-authenticated histories of super- 
natural appearances, and spiritual communi- 
cations; it will at least unravel very many, 
and would probably explain the remainder, if 
we were in possession of all the circumstances. 



CHAPTER XX. 41 1 

and if we were capable of detecting the al- 
most infinitely varied sophistications of truth, 
which are the product of superstition. Thus 
at least it is reasonable to conclude, and to 
place the absence of complete explanation 
upon the failure of our intellectual powers, 
rather than upon the route of investigation 
which may have been adopted. But even sup- 
posing it granted that all these relations were 
ultimately inexplicable, still the attempt to 
find a rationale for them is loaded with fewer 
difficulties than that of establishing the reality 
of apparitions. 

There is no ground for applying the admitted 
events of the apostolic age to the occurrences of 
the present period ; because the former were 
miraculous, and produced for an especial purpose ; 
and the period of miraculous interposition has 
been superseded by the ordinary operations of 
the Word, and Providence, and Spirit of God 
— namely, through the agency of appointed 
means. 

But apparitions are justly classed as mira- 
cles, because they are deviations from the es- 
tablished course of nature : and the converse 
of this proposition can only be maintained by 
supposing, that all alleged spectral appear- 
ances really formed a portion of the common 



412 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

course of events, established by Infinite Wis- 
dom, at the creation of the world ; which is 
again assuming the point in dispute, and which 
is rendered to the last degree improbable, be- 
cause inconsistent with all that is known of 
the moral government of God. 

The contrary opinion is not established by 
any supposed difference between our mental 
and corporeal natures, because these are so 
interwoven, that each is dependent upon the 
other, and the former cannot act without in- 
fluencing the latter. We have this treasure 
in houses of clay ; and if the material tene- 
ment be impaired, there will be no adequate 
manifestation of mind. It is absurd, therefore, 
to talk of an essential difference in our ''mental 
existence, and organic formation^'' when the first 
can only be demonstrated by the integrity of 
the latter, and is obscured, perverted, appa- 
rently lost, as soon as the organ ceases to be 
capable of correct mental manifestation. 

The possibility of spectral appearances is not 
denied, but only its probability. Now in sup- 
port of this probability, the value of human 
testimony has been weighed in the balance of 
reason and Christianity, and has been found 
wanting. And to plead the general and uni- 
versally extended belief of every nation and 



CHAPTER XX. 413 

people in supernatural visitations (see ''Past 
Feelings Renovated"), is no argument in its fa- 
vour, since it might be claimed for idolatry, 
and for almost every error under the sun ; and 
to adduce the prevalence of error in its own 
support, is absolutely to assert that it dimi- 
nishes in importance, in proportion to its ex- 
tension ; or that it ceases to be injurious ac- 
cording to the multiplication of its victims. 

This mode of argumentation is not charge- 
able with a sceptical tendency; but, on the 
contrary, by separating truth from error; by 
defining physical influence, and distinguishing 
it from spiritual agency ; and by placing the 
offspring of superstitious impression at an im- 
measurable distance from the operations of the 
Holy Spirit, and of the providence of God; it 
tends to vindicate the moral Governor of the 
universe, and to fix our faith, and hope, and 
confidence, and love, on the only secure rest- 
ing place for a conscious sinner. 

The impossibility of accounting for some 
supernatural appearances is only the common 
lot of humanity^ and is to be placed with many 
— nay with almost all nature's secret opera- 
tions — with the interior movement and imme- 
diate cause of which we are utterly unac- 
quainted. 



414 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

It has been shown that apparitions do arise 
out of the compound nature of our spiritual 
and material conformation, because their ex- 
istence depends upon the irritation of the organ 
of mind from its own diseases ; from sympa- 
thetic suffering, arising from the maladies of 
other functions of the body ; or from the in- 
vasion of any important morbid action. 

The position thus admitted is not at all in 
favour of the belief in a *' permitted mental 
communication of our spiritual nature, with 
other spiritual existences," independently of, 
and excluding the medium, or agency, of the 
organic senses of materiality : in fact, their 
agency cannot be excluded, since mind has 
not possibly another medium of communica- 
tion with external nature, or with itself; that 
is, with its own manifestations. 

Credulity is not simply the error of contract- 
ed minds: it exists at both extremities of the 
scale of intellect, and will be found, under 
varying modifications, in the individual who is 
credulous, because he is unable to see and to 
comprehend and embrace many points of a 
subject; and in him who is conspicuous for his 
large measure of surpassing belief, because he 
looks down from an eminence on the immensity 
of the subject before him, and, from estimating 



CHAPTER XX. 415 

the small portion which he can thoroughly 
comprehend, gives the reins to imagination 
over that larger hidden territory v^hich eludes 
the utmost grasp of finite mind. 

Among these unknown portions of science, 
over which the darkness of ignorance broods, 
and the ignis fatuus of a lawless imagination 
delights to revel, is the function of the nervous 
system. Of this we know very little; and the 
discoveries of the last few years, with regard to 
the double function of nerves, and to the phy- 
siology of the respiratory nerves, are sufficient 
to prove that as yet we know very little. But 
this subject must be only just hinted at: we 
dare not now venture upon its more extended 
consideration ; and we proceed, finally, to the 
moral conclusions to be drawn from the whole 
argument. 

This disturbance of brainular function is no 
excuse for peevishness or impatience; as in 
itself it forms no proof of a want of interest in 
the atoning sacrifice of Christ, or of the ab- 
sence of the transforming influence of the Holy 
Spirit. 

But it is a constant, living proof of the de- 
basing influence of sin, upon all the manifes- 
tations of mind. 



416 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Thus it forms a portion of that trial of the 
Christian's faith and patience, for which he is 
placed in the world ; and it therefore teaches 
him to be watchful, and to pray, lest he enter 
into temptation ; while the consciousness of its 
existence should lead him to the exertion of 
unwonted energy in his course, and should in- 
vite him to seek for strength where alone it 
can be truly found. 

Man's moral responsibility rests on the fact of 
his possessing some mode of communication be- 
tween all his organs and functions, and the 
supreme presiding Mind. The brain is sub- 
jected to the power of volition, and is therefore 
under the controul of the will : hence, for all 
its actions and promptings, and for all its 
associated sympathies, and for all its mental 
manifestations, man is minutely answerable. 

From these considerations should arise a 
deep sentiment of gratitude to God, for the 
preservation of health, and, above all, for the 
integrity of the brainular function, and its 
mental manifestations ; and thus will neces- 
sarily follow the devotion of every power to 
the love and service of the most high God ; 
diligence and circumspection in the employ- 
ment of every talent ; and a firm resolution, in 



CHAPTER XX. 417 

the strength of the Lord God, to work while it 
is day, for ** the night cometh when no man 
can work." 

With this sentiment will be closely asso- 
ciated the principles of benevolence and com- 
passion towards those who suffer from brainu- 
lar irritation, and the associated morbid mani- 
festations of mind. 

The origin of cerebral irritation may often 
be traced to the influence of moral causes ; and 
moral management will always be found use- 
ful in its treatment, because these means exert 
considerable influence over the function of the 
brain, and through it upon the irritated organ 
of mind. 

Hence will follow the great importance of 
watchfulness and prayer, to be preserved from 
sin and its awful consequences ; from those 
moral causes which may disturb the equilibrium 
of brainular function, and lead to the most fear- 
ful present results ; and which, if unchanged, 
may conduct to the night of death, a night of 
the gloomiest hopelessness, and to a futurity of 
interminable misery. 

How all-important, therefore, is religious 
principle, in preserving the mind from those 
causes which conduct to cerebral disorder! 

E E 



418 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

The spiritual principle can be subject only 
to one moral taint, pervading all the manifesta- 
tions of mind, producing the disorder of sinful 
action and passion, and thus necessarily dis- 
turbing the function of the brain. 

For this spiritual disease a remedy has been 
provided. Man has not the inherent power of 
recovering himself from this state; he has 
nothing of his own to offer. But a ransom has 
been found, and a remedy has been applied. 
The Son of God has offered himself a sacrifice 
for sin ; and his atoning blood cleanses from 
all iniquity. To this fountain sinners are in- 
vited to come, and, believing in him, to be 
saved, from the love, and power, and penalty 
of sin; and to find pardon, and peace, and 
holiness, and love, and joy. 

By referring dreaming, nightmare, &c. to a 
peculiar condition of the material brain, we 
vindicate the honour of God, and we do not 
derogate from his power, or wisdom, or good- 
ness. 

If dreaming be produced by a bodily con- 
dition, the organ so disturbed may have been, 
and in fact has been, subjected to the pervert- 
ing agency which accompanied the Fall ; and 
thus it becomes a portion of the natural punish- 



CHAPTER XX. 419 

ment of sin, is actually a proof of its debasing 
influence, and forms a highly important part 
of the moral government of the world. 

If dreaming were referred to the uninfluenced 
associations of the immaterial spirit, it would 
follow that it possesses very limited powers of 
intelligence; and, 

That these require to be aided by the ma- 
terial connexions of the brain ; results which 
experience contradicts, and which, if allowed^ 
would terminate in materialism. 

Man is not directly responsible for his 
dreams ; but he is awfully so for any allowed 
trains of thought, for any indulgence of un- 
hallowed passion, which may be revived dur- 
ing sleep, by an irritated brain, and which may 
present to the mind polluting images : — hence 
the great necessity for watchfulness, lest the 
enemy insidiously approach, and guilt be con- 
tracted, because Christian vigilance slumbered. 

Against the disturbing effect of indigestion 
and brainular irritation, upon the common 
manifestations of mind, we are called upon 
to struggle ; to '* watch and pray," lest we 
"enter into temptation," This duty forms a 
portion of our daily trial, and it preserves the 
mind humble and dependent; determined, in 

EE 2 



420 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

the strength of the Lord, to grapple with in- 
firmity, and yet conscious, that it is in his 
strength alone we can ultimately come oiF more 
than conquerors, or produce fruit to the praise 
of the glory of his grace. 

The best antidote against superstitious fear 
is to be found in the principle of quiet confi- 
dence in a superintending Providence ; recol- 
lecting that nothing can hurt the children of 
God, except as permitted or commissioned by 
him to bring them back, if wanderers from his 
fold. Even the power of wicked men to harm 
us is limited by the designs of an all-wise, and 
gracious, and merciful Jehovah. 

A lesson of humility may be drawn from our 
ignorance and helplessness, which so daily 
teach us the necessity for dependance on Christ 
for grace, and wisdom, and strength : from 
Him alone can they be obtained ; but they 
must be diligently sought, and humbly prayed 
for, and perseveringly striven after. 

It is most unequivocally admitted, that the 
Almighty Ruler over all can interfere with the 
laws of nature ; and the proofs of his having 
done so, in evidence of his Divine mission, 
rest on the most unequivocal foundation ; but 
then a particular purpose was to be accom- 



CHAPTER XX. 421 

plished, — a portion of the great scheme of re- 
demption, the grand design of mercy and of 
love to fallen apostate man. 

But these interferences appear to have been 
limited to certain portions of the history of the 
church in its early infancy. 

And now that we have the sure word of God 
for our guide ; and that the canon of Scripture 
is complete; and that woe is denounced against 
those who add to what has been revealed ; and 
that there are appointed ministers and means 
of grace ; miracles are no longer necessary, 
the voice of prophecy has ceased, the gift of 
tongues and the fervour of inspiration have given 
way to the ordinary operations of Divine grace, 
— by the teaching of the Spirit, by the written 
and preached word of God, by obedience, and 
prayer, and faith, and waiting upon Him, sin- 
cerely desirous of being led into ail truth. 

Dreams and visions are to be ranged in the 
same class of extraordinary communication : 
they have ceased with the peculiarities of the 
age which gave them birth ; therefore they do 
not now form the rule for our guidance. 

As well might we expect apostles gifted with 
superhuman powers, as that the Almighty 
would now employ dreams as the medium of 
spiritual communication : and as we would 



422 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

treat the pretensions of the former, if assumed, 
with discredit, so no one at this hour of the 
Christian day should appeal to dreams as evi- 
dence of a communication from the Almighty 
and sovereign Disposer of all things. 

There is no excuse for temptation to sin, on 
the ground of any extraordinary supernatural 
tempter. Temptation consists in the adapta- 
tion of circumstances to man's natural faculties, 
which have been debased by the Fall, having 
lost all their original purity and excellence, 
their likeness to the image of God ; and having 
become corrupt with a constant propensity to 
evil, which reigns in our mortal bodies, because 
the heart loves it, and fondly clasps the chain 
by which it is enthralled. 

To this influence is to be added that of habit 
and association : the thoughts of the heart are 
only evil, and that continually. 

But the heart must be renewed by Divine 
grace ; and there is implanted that living prin- 
ciple of hatred to sin, and love of holiness, 
which will produce a never-failing opposition 
to the influence of evil tendency, and to the 
suggestions of the Devil. 

Thus, then, it is, that the gift of God is freely 
offered to all those who seek for his blessing : 
but this asking can only arise from good de- 



CHAPTER XX, 423 

sires ; and these good desires are not naturally 
found in the bosom, and can only spring from 
the influence of the Spirit of God ; but when 
once received into the heart, and implanted 
there, the will becomes changed, and the 
whole power of that function is to be devoted 
to the love and service of God. 

It is no excuse that man is prone to corrup- 
tion, and that he may be led into temptation ; 
because the sanctifying influence of the Holy 
Spirit is a power superior to the voice of pas- 
sion, or to any supposed agency of the evil 
spirit ; the Christian must be found struggling 
after holiness, and daily mortifying sin, so that 
he may grow in grace, live in obedience to 
Christ, and be found humbly, yet firmly, imi- 
tating his example. For a moment let it be 
recollected how powerful an exertion of the 
will, and what almost incredible efforts a man 
will make to save himself when his life is in 
danger : he • does not then quietly wait the 
destructive agent till its force has become over- 
whelming, and escape impossible ; but he flees 
for his life. So when spiritual life is in danger, 
and enemies threaten, and temptations assail, 
and zeal is languid, and faith is feeble, the 
Christian is not only to wait upon God, but, 
by a powerful effort of the will, to save him- 



424 



ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION, 



self from danger — well knowing, that the 
strength of the Lord God, strength equal to 
his day, has been promised. But then, it is 
promised only to those who are found in the 
path of duty : in fact, exertion is to the Chris- 
tian the appointed means of obtaining all his 
blessings. 

A similar train of reasoning will apply to 
errors of judgment and opinion: these arise 
from the debasing change which has passed on 
man, which has quenched the light of life in 
his soul, and has most strangely perverted the 
manifestations of the organ of mind. 

Man's duty, therefore, with regard to this 
source of fallacy in thought and action, is to re- 
ceive with caution the notices conveyed by this 
perverted function; to pray to be led into all 
truth, and to strive earnestly to redeem the 
time ; to resist the propensity to evil ; and to 
recover, as far as may be, that original per- 
fection of the spiritual principle, in which our 
first parents were created, from which they fell 
by disobedience, and which we, their degene- 
rate offspring, have perpetuated, by following 
the wayward imaginations of our unrenewed 
hearts. 

By this view of the subject, man is not only 
rendered accountable for all his thoughts and 



CHAPTER XX. 425 

actions, but he is left without excuse if he neg- 
lect so great salvation ; if he obstinately refuse 
to receive Christ, and to obey his laws. 

Thus is the voice of practical infidelity si- 
lenced : man is rendered responsible for the 
employment of his intellectual and affective 
faculties, for his preference of evil to good, and 
for his abuse or disuse of the talents entrusted 
to him : but he is not accountable for those 
actions and expressions which result from the 
continued operation of the brain, when from 
some change in its relations of health or disease, 
it has escaped the controul of the presiding 
spirit. 

With what deeply-felt adoration and gratitude 
should the heart be raised to the Author of all 
our blessings, for the preservation of the brainu- 
lar function from disorder ! 

The creation of apparitions depends upon 
primary or sympathetic irritation of the brain ; 
and is one of those evil consequences which 
flowed from the debasing influence of the Fall 
upon the organ appointed for the manifestations 
of mind, and upon those manifestations them- 
selves. 

How consoling is it to the Christian, that in 
all the difficulties arising from this perversion, 
he enjoys the comforting presence of the Holy 



426 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

Spirit ; and is refreshed and sustained by the 
recollection, that he has before the throne of 
God a great High Priest, Advocate, and Inter- 
cessor, who was partaker of his infirmities, yet 
without sin ; and who has now entered within 
the veil, there to plead for the errors of his 
people. 

In judging of death-bed scenes, it is neces- 
sary to recollect what a large admixture oi phy- 
sical influence is to be traced ; and it must not 
be expected that the manifestations of mind 
should be perfect. When the sun is fast sink- 
ing from our view, the lengthened shadow first 
proclaims that we may not trust to this mode of 
judging of the correct outline of natural bodies : 
in a little time^ a still greater uncertainty per- 
vades the undefined forms of twilight, till they 
are presently shrouded from our view altogether 
by the deepening obscurity of night. So when 
the Christian's sun is setting on earth, its mani- 
festations become imperfect — they lose the de- 
fined outline of health — and more or less of 
physical disorder involves the manifestations of 
mind in greater and deeper obscurity, till they 
are lost to us in the darkness of death. Granted 
that this is only a temporary abstraction of light, 
and that the Christian's sun is no sooner set on 
earth, than it rises in a more glorious and ever- 



CHAPTER XX. 427 

lasting day, where the sun shall no more go 
down. But we see not this change : it occurs 
in another hemisphere, of which we know only 
by faith and not by sight, and in which the 
Lamb is the light thereof. It is true, that some- 
times the spiritual principle seems carried above 
the influence of physical causes ; but this is 
rare, and usually depends on a state of physical 
exaltation. Errors on this subject arise com- 
monly from looking at death as taking place in 
consequence of the soul quitting its material 
tenement. But this is a mistake; physical 
death occurs ; and in consequence of this 
change, the body being no longer fitted for the 
manifestation of mind, the soul returns to God, 
who gave it. Now, therefore, where the brain 
is the j^r^^ organ to die, the perfect action of that 
viscus will be early impaired, and the manifest- 
ations of mind will be perverted or destroyed : 
where a state of brainular excitement is pre- 
sent, they will be marked by an increased degree 
of intensity, amounting to exaltation of spiritual 
action : and where it is the last to die, it will 
happen that its function seems to be unim- 
paired, and to be quietly and perfectly con- 
tinued, till positive death has extinguished the 
channel for the exhibition of its power. 

Where there is so much scope for physical 



428 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

influence, great caution should be observed 
in drawing any inferences from a man's last 
words. 

Great care should be taken in early life not to 
excite the brain too much ; health, and strength, 
and peace of mind are often sacrificed at the 
shrine of parental vanity, in the desire after 
precocious talent for their children, and thus is 
produced a state favourable for the creation of 
apparitions of every shape. 

The same may be said of powerfully excitant 
reading, especially of interesting fiction, adapted 
to infantile imagination ; when that active and 
uncontrollable faculty has been endeavouring 
to clothe ideal personages, with such a sem- 
blance of truth and nature, as that it shall be 
deceived into interest, on the several puppets 
before it, — but which, considered as puppets, 
would fail to interest beyond the earliest years. 
The mischief arising from the development of 
this faculty for unreal creation is incalculable ; 
and its impression is probably never lost ; — then 
it is revived in after life, and forms a ground- 
work for superstition, and for false notions of 
men and things, as well as for a feebleness and 
irritability of brain^ which predispose that or- 
gan to morbid manifestation. 

Great evil in this point of view arises in after- 



CHAPTER XX. 429 

life from the too great admixture of fiction in the 
reading of the young ; especially of the fashion- 
able religious fictions of the day. Almost all the 
children's books are now little novels, and thus 
false views of real life are produced ; and, 
which is worse, an irritability of brain that is 
never effaced, and which, in one way or other, 
pursues its unconscious victim through life. 
The brain never loses the effect of these early 
impressions ; and a warning voice, against their 
increasing influence, is recorded as an act of 
duty to the present and the rising generation. 

Enthusiasm is an evil infinitely less than the- 
oretical or practical infidelity ; but still it is an 
evil, because it leads to the formation of erro- 
neous views on the character and moral govern- 
ment of the divine Being; and it excites a pre- 
judice against both in the minds of those, who 
are almost persuaded to be Christians. 

Finally : all our affairs are in the hands of an 
all-powerful, all-wise, and all-merciful Jehovah. 
It is only under the influence of true religion, 
and of the love of God shed abroad in the 
heart, that the mind can be at peace. Here is 
a counterpoise to the physical evils with which 
we are surrounded ; a soother amidst all the 
calamities of life, and the turmoils of society ; a 
hiding'place from the creations of fear ; a resto- 



430 ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION. 

rative amidst the exhausting cravings of intel- 
lectual appetite, and the morbid manifestations 
which result from its indulgence : here alone is 
the only refuge from all the dreams, visions, 
voices, spectral appearances, and every other 
creation of distempered fancy : there is repose in 
God ; ^'for so he giveth his beloved sleep,'' — May 
God in his infinite mercy grant that the prece- 
ding attempt may redound to the honour and 
glory of his holy name ; may it be blessed to 
the conviction and support of the feeble Chris- 
tian ; and may the writer deeply and increasingly 
feel his own awful responsibility for the measure 
of talent entrusted to his care ; and may " he 
find mercy in that day 1" 



THE END. 



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